Clippers Are Pursuing Deal to Trade Anderson

Although the Clippers cannot complete a deal until Aug. 1, the franchise has been busy seeking a three-team trade that would send shooting guard Derek Anderson to the Denver Nuggets.

Anderson, who will become an unrestricted free agent Monday, would sign a deal with the Clippers reportedly worth more than $5 million a season before being sent to the Nuggets, a team that has shown interest in him all summer.

The uncertainty of the deal revolves around the other players involved and who the Clippers would receive in return. According to league sources, the key to the deal could be Boston point guard Dana Barros, who is entering the final year of his contract and is scheduled to earn $3.7 million.

Barros, who had his best pro seasons under Clipper coaching candidate John Lucas in Philadelphia, would be joined by either Denver forward Keon Clark or guard Brian Stith. The Celtics would receive Nugget free-agent shooting guard Tariq Abdul-Wahad and second-year guard Chris Herren, a Boston native.

“In the end, we can do nothing at all,” Boston Coach Rick Pitino told the Boston Herald. “It is possible something may happen for us, but it could just as easily not.”

In keeping with team policy, the Clippers would not comment on the proposed deal Monday.

For Anderson and Abdul-Wahad, the deal would mean more money because neither player has been courted by teams with enough salary-cap room or that are willing to sign them for other than for the league’s $2 million mid-level contract.

Like the Clippers’ other top free agent, power forward Maurice Taylor, Anderson has discovered that he is liked around the league but he’ll need the Clippers’ help to get a significant long-term contract. Taylor remains high on the wish lists of Detroit, New York and Orlando. Anderson also has been courted heavily by San Antonio and the Magic.

But if a trade that includes either Anderson or Taylor is completed, it would mean the Clippers would be in better position to move other players off a crowded roster. Not including Anderson or Taylor, the Clippers have 14 players under contract with 11 guaranteed.

On the coaching front, the Clippers seem to have narrowed their focus to Lucas and former Atlanta and Cleveland coach Mike Fratello.