Chandler Among Three in Clipper Auditions

After landing the No. 2 overall pick in last Sunday’s NBA lottery, the Clippers did not waste any time getting a close look at potential picks by working out Eddie Griffin, Tyson Chandler and Loren Woods this week at USC.

“Those guys are good, but it’s going to be hard drafting on potential,” Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry said after the team worked out Chandler on Friday.

The Clippers, who finished the season 31-51, are expected to get numerous trade offers for their first-round pick but Gentry said it’s difficult to say what the team will do next.

“We’re going to listen, but my guess is that it will have to be a pretty special offer for us not to keep our pick,” Gentry said. “We have a chance to get a real talented player and our goal is to continue to improve as a team.”

In Griffin, a Seton Hall freshman last season, and Chandler, one of the top high school players in the draft, the Clippers got an up-close look at two players who could end up the No. 1 pick overall.

The Clippers will not have any more private workouts until after the pre-draft camp in Chicago from June 5-8. That’s when the team probably will work out some of the remaining top prospects such as Duke’s Shane Battier and high schoolers Eddy Curry, Kwame Brown and DeSagana Diop.

“They all have a lot of potential and we understand where they are in development,” Jeff Weltman, director of player personnel, said about having so many young players in the June 27 draft.