With No Skipper at the Helm, Clippers Are Seemingly Adrift

The stark contrast between Los Angeles’ two NBA teams grew even more noticeable this week in the wake of the Lakers’ first championship in 12 years.

A day after defeating the Indiana Pacers in the finals, the Laker front office was back at work. With the support of owner Jerry Buss, Laker Executive Vice President Jerry West began setting up moves to make the Lakers even better.

And the Clippers? Business as usual, which means very little business.

Even though their season ended more than two months ago, the Clippers have no coach and are no closer to naming one than they were when they finished with the worst record in the league.

Elgin Baylor, vice president of basketball operations, has been interviewing candidates, but owner Donald Sterling is away on vacation until next week and nothing will be done until he returns.

Baylor said in early May the Clippers hoped to have a coach before the draft, which will be conducted Wednesday night at Minneapolis.

“That hasn’t changed,” Baylor said. “We still would like to have a coach in place before [the draft]. “We’ve narrowed it down to several candidates. I can’t give you an exact number but there are more than one we are looking at.”

When the Clippers left the Sports Arena to move into Staples Center last year, the franchise talked about a new beginning. Executive Vice President Andy Roeser said the team was ready to shed its losing image and move ahead.

So far, that hasn’t happened and Staples Center officials probably wouldn’t mind if Sterling decided to exercise an out clause in the team’s contract after next season and move the Clippers after the 2001-2002 campaign. On the record, though, all is sweetness and light.

“I don’t know what they are thinking, but we would love to have them here,” Staples Center President Tim Leiweke said of the Clippers, who signed a six-year lease last year. “Hopefully, the Lakers’ championship will inspire them [to make changes].”

In a way, the Clippers have already benefited from the Lakers’ title. Premium season tickets, which include the Lakers, Kings and Clippers, are almost sold out for the next two seasons--400 were available this past season--and the luxury suites are sold out for years to come.

So despite their losing record and ranking last in the league in attendance, the Clippers actually could make more money next season, thanks to the Lakers.

The Coaching Search

When the Clippers’ season ended April 19, Jim Todd was interim coach, having taken over after Chris Ford was fired Feb. 3. But Todd was told last month that he no longer was being considered for the permanent job.

By waiting to name a coach, the Clippers are maintaining a Sterling tradition, the annual coach hiring and firing. The next head coach will be the franchise’s ninth since 1990 and the 13th since Sterling became owner in 1981.

With Todd and assistants Dennis Johnson, Rex Kalamian and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the payroll until the end of this month, however, the Clippers were in no hurry to find someone.

Mike Fratello and Lenny Wilkens reportedly were the early favorites, but they are out of the picture now.

Wilkens was named coach of the Toronto Raptors earlier this week.

And, according to league sources, Fratello’s asking price was too high for Sterling, and Sterling’s standard offer of only a two-year contract wasn’t attractive to Fratello.

John Thompson, Baylor’s longtime friend, was also an early candidate, but not anymore because the former Georgetown coach has said he would prefer a front-office position.

That leaves Johnson, who spent the second half of last season with the Clippers after having been a head coach in the Continental Basketball Assn., and John Lucas, a two-time former NBA head coach and current Denver assistant, as the top candidates.

Johnson has been active in the numerous pre-draft workouts of prospective players but that doesn’t mean he’s a lock for the job because all of the Clipper coaches, except Abdul-Jabbar, have been regulars at the workouts.

Lucas, who met with Baylor at a pre-draft camp in Chicago earlier this month, has told sources that he still has a strong chance, but in the end it will be Sterling’s decision.

The Draft

Rebuilding for the Clippers has never proceeded according to plan.

With the No. 3 overall pick and three choices in the top 30, the Clippers again will have a chance to add talent.

Jeff Weltman, director of player personnel, and Baylor have been aggressive in looking at potential choices. By Wednesday, draft day, they hope to have worked out at least 30 players.

Since power forward Maurice Taylor, the team’s leading scorer the last two seasons, has said he will sign elsewhere as a free agent, the Clippers are likely to draft a big man.

Draft experts predict that the Clippers will end up with Iowa State forward Marcus Fizer at the No. 3 position because Cincinnati’s Kenyon Martin and Louisiana State’s Stromile Swift are expected to be chosen 1-2 by New Jersey and Vancouver.

Baylor said Fizer had a good private workout for the Clippers earlier this month.

“He has good offensive skills, good low-post skills and he’s strong,” Baylor said. “He’s a talented player.”

But the Clippers are not locked into Fizer. They worked out Swift two weeks ago and even though he was not 100% because of an illness, he was impressive. High schooler Darius Miles of East St. Louis, Ill., could also be in the running, but the Clippers are not expected to have him in for a workout.

With so many holes to fill, the Clippers have worked out players at every position and several saw their stock rise, according to the team. They include Stanford forward Mark Madsen, Fresno State guard Courtney Alexander, Hofstra point guard Speedy Claxton and Hidayet Turkoglu, a versatile 21-year-old forward from Turkey.

“We have to wait and see because we don’t know what will happen in the draft before we pick,” Baylor said. “But whatever happens, we will still get a good player.”

Last year, the Clippers landed talented Lamar Odom with the fourth overall pick and he stepped up with a solid rookie season. The Clippers can only hope they have the same type of luck in a few days.

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The Lakers’ run to the NBA title has dwarfed anything in Showtime era. Mark Heisler’s column. Page 12

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NBA Draft

Order of selection for the 2000 NBA draft to be held 4:30 p.m. PDT Wednesday at Target Center in Minneapolis (TV--TNT):

FIRST ROUND

1. New Jersey; 2. Vancouver; 3. Clippers; 4. Chicago; 5. Orlando (from Golden State); 6. Atlanta; 7. Chicago (from Washington); 8. Cleveland; 9. Houston; 10. Orlando (from Denver); 11. Boston; 12. Dallas; 13. Orlando; 14. Detroit; 15. Milwaukee; 16. Sacramento; 17. Seattle; 18. Clippers (from Toronto through Atlanta, Philadelphia and New York); 19. Charlotte; 20. Philadelphia; 21. Toronto (from Minnesota); 22. New York; 23. Utah (from Miami); 24. Chicago (from San Antonio); 25. Phoenix; 26. Denver (from Utah); 27. Indiana; 28. Portland; 29. Lakers.

SECOND ROUND

30. Clippers; 31. Dallas (from Chicago); 32. Chicago (from Golden State); 33. Chicago (from Vancouver through Houston); 34. Chicago (from Atlanta); 35. Washington; 36. New Jersey; 37. Denver (from Cleveland); 38. Houston; 39. Boston; 40. Atlanta (from Denver); 41. San Antonio (from Dallas); 42. Seattle (from Orlando); 43. Milwaukee; 44. Detroit; 45. Sacramento; 46. Toronto; 47. Seattle; 48. Philadelphia; 49. Milwaukee (from Charlotte) 50. Utah (from New York); 51. Minnesota; 52. Miami; 53. Denver (from Phoenix); 54. San Antonio; 55. Golden State (from Utah); 56. Indiana; 57. Detroit (from Portland); 58. Dallas (from Lakers).