L.A.’s Prospects: the Great Divide

Despite the lacks of a consensus franchise player such as Shaquille O’Neal or Tim Duncan, tonight’s NBA draft is intriguing because there are so many questions.

And any time there’s a rumor regarding the draft, the Clippers are usually involved. That holds true again.

With the No. 3 pick, the Clippers--who are without a coach--have been approached by several teams looking to move up.

“It figures that the three teams with multiple picks in the first round, who are all under the salary cap, have been very busy taking calls,” Elgin Baylor, vice president of basketball operations, said Tuesday. “Our phone lines have been burning up in both directions.

“We’re taking a hard look at every angle. But, it would be completely premature to say that our discussions have reached the serious stage.”

With New Jersey expected to draft Cincinnati’s Kenyon Martin No. 1 and Vancouver leaning toward taking Louisiana State’s Stromile Swift at No. 2, the Clippers are expected to pick Iowa State’s Marcus Fizer, but the late attention high-school forward Darius Miles has received complicates their decision.

The rumored trade on Tuesday involved the Clippers and the Orlando Magic.

According to Orlando sources, the Magic want to acquire the Clippers’ pick. In return, the Clippers would get Orlando’s No. 5 and No. 10 picks, along with a player.

“I can see the Clippers doing a lot of things with their pick,” Orlando Coach Doc Rivers said. “They have a lot of tough things they have to decide on.”

What may help the Clippers pull the trigger for the deal is if the Magic offered a player like hard-working center Michael Doleac or swingman Corey Maggette, the 13th overall pick in last year’s draft, instead of a journeyman like Derek Strong.

By making the trade with Orlando, the Clippers would have four picks in the top 30 because they already have the No. 18 pick and the first pick of the second round.

Because this year’s draft is regarded as a one of the deepest in years, Orlando is hoping the extra picks would entice the Clippers, who could lose power forward Maurice Taylor and guard Derek Anderson to free agency.

“It’s all potential,” said Atlanta General Manager Pete Babcock about the players eligible for the draft. “It’s all potential and youth.”

One reason why Orlando is willing to make the deal is because reducing the number of draft choices would give the Magic more salary cap room to go after free agents such as Grant Hill and Duncan.

The Magic, who also have the No. 13 pick, would be happy with either Martin, Swift, Miles or Fizer, in that order, and reportedly offered the same deal to New Jersey, Vancouver and Chicago, which has the No. 4 selection.

Over the last two weeks, the Clippers have seemed to waver on Fizer, who has an NBA body at 6 feet 7, 250 pounds but is not known for being a hard-working rebounder or defender.

“He worked out very well for us,” Baylor said about Fizer. “I’ve seen him play before. He has good offensive skills. He’s good in the low post and he’s very strong.”

Baylor and Jeff Weltman, vice president of player personnel, have had at least 22 players work out privately for the team.

“It’s tough to speculate but we’ll have to wait and see how it goes,” Baylor said. “We know we’ll get [good players].”

European standouts Hidayet Turkoglu of Turkey and Marko Jaric of Italy are expected to be high first round selections along with centers Chris Mims of Texas and Joel Przybilla of Minnesota.

With their No. 18 pick, the Clippers may be looking to take a point guard with Hofstra’s Speedy Claxton and Connecticut’s Khalid El-Amin likely available.

But with Lamar Odom, last year’s first-round pick, expected to run the team’s offense more from the small forward position, the Clippers may be looking at more offensive guards such as Fresno State’s Courtney Alexander, Michigan’s Jamal Crawford, Cincinnati’s DerMarr Johnson or Missouri’s Keyon Dooling.

Other players who might get a look by the Clippers include Michigan State forward Morris Peterson and Florida forwards Donnell Harvey and Mike Miller.

UCLA’s Jerome Moiso is expected to be the first local player selected and he could be picked as high as No. 9 by Houston. UCLA swingman JaRon Rush could get a look from the Clippers at the start of the second round.