Another Pointed Day for Clippers : Pro basketball: They get Murdock in trade with Nets, but hear from Falk that Taylor will leave team after the season.

Anything positive always seems to be offset by a negative for the Clippers, and that proved to be true Thursday.

The good news was after going most of the off-season scanning the market for a point guard, the Clippers acquired veteran Eric Murdock in a trade from the New Jersey Nets for forward Johnny Newman.

Of course, there was bad news too. David Falk, who represents Maurice Taylor, told reporters that the power forward is certain to become an ex-Clipper next summer because of the team’s decision not to grant him a maximum contract extension before training camp begins Oct. 5.

It was a typical day for the Clippers, who continue to baffle not only people around the league with decisions made under owner Donald Sterling but also some of the team’s current players.

“The Clippers have a reputation of wanting good players for a cheap price,” said second-year swingman Tyrone Nesby, who re-signed as a restricted free agent this summer after the Clippers matched a three-year, $8.9-million offer from the San Antonio Spurs.

“You can’t win if you keep changing your team. You can’t have guys staying together just for two years or one year. That’s what is wrong with the Clippers now.”

The thought of losing Taylor bothered Nesby, who said he spoke to the third-year player last week over the phone.

“He told me that he still had love for us [his Clipper teammates] but that this was business,” Nesby said. “I was surprised to hear from him. But when I talked to him, I asked what he was going to do and he just told me there were a lot of things he couldn’t talk about yet.”

After the Clippers’ announced they would not give Taylor a six-year, $70.9-million extension, Falk ripped Sterling for failing to take a more visible role in the contract discussions.

“It’s clearly Donald’s decision, but he wants other people to take the fall,” Falk said. “I think that it’s important that the facts are out. The Clippers have a stigma . . . and they had a chance to turn everything around and show people that they have changed the way they do business.”

Falk said that after Sterling did not show up for a Sept. 8 meeting he attended with Elgin Baylor, vice president of basketball operations, he requested that the Clippers work out a trade for Taylor.

“I informed the team that Maurice would not, under any circumstances, agree to a future extension with the Clippers,” Falk said. Taylor remains home in Detroit and has not commented about his contract situation.

The Clippers say they have no plans of fulfilling Falk’s wish, meaning Taylor will play the final season under his contract and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. If the Clippers do not give an extension to Taylor before Oct. 31, the NBA deadline for players in Taylor’s draft class, they would have to sign him as a free agent after June 30, 2000.

Murdock, an eight-year NBA veteran who played for Clipper Coach Chris Ford in Milwaukee, averaged 7.9 points, 4.4 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 15 games last season. He missed 35 games because of a sore left knee and strained left groin.

Murdock and Troy Hudson are the only point guards on the Clippers’ roster. Sherman Douglas is an unrestricted free agent and is not in the team’s plans; Darrick Martin signed as a free agent with the Sacramento Kings and Pooh Richardson was waived earlier this month.