Facts

2000-01 record: 31-51, sixth in Pacific Division.

The coach: Alvin Gentry, second season.

Who’s gone: Zendon Hamilton (not re-signed), Cherokee Parks (not re-signed), Brian Skinner (trade).

Who’s new: Elton Brand (trade).

Projected starting lineup: Brand, Lamar Odom, Michael Olowokandi, Jeff McInnis, Eric Piatkowski.

Projected bench rotation: Keyon Dooling, Darius Miles, Corey Maggette, Quentin Richardson, Sean Rooks.

Keys to the season: Better rebounding, fewer turnovers, greater maturity ... not necessarily in that order.

Outlook: There are so many things to like about the Clippers that it’s difficult to know where to start, but Brand and Odom are as good a place as any. Brand, acquired in a June trade with the Chicago Bulls, gives the team much-needed muscle at power forward. He also brings averages of 20 points and 10 rebounds in his first two NBA seasons. Although only 21, Odom is the unquestioned team leader. And that says a great deal about the youthful Clippers, whose average age for the starting five will be 25.4 on opening night against the San Antonio Spurs.

Olowokandi must make strides in order to avoid being the weak link between Brand and Odom, his younger but more accomplished teammates up front. The bench is strong, particularly at guard, with Dooling a capable backup for McInnis at point guard and Maggette and Richardson pushing Piatkowski for time at shooting guard. Miles, only 20, continues to make progress and Gentry is content to let him mature at his own pace. Conventional wisdom suggests it won’t be long before Miles is a standout. All of this could add up to the franchise’s first winning season since it went 45-37 in 1991-92. The playoffs also are a possibility, but it could take 45 victories or more to finish among the top eight in the hyper-competitive Western Conference. After a 16-victory improvement (from 15 in 1999-2000 to 31 last season), expectations are high, though. Anything seems possible.

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