Lakers Still Real Deal

All you Clipper fans who were going out to LAX to welcome Andre Miller, never mind.

The NBA draft went off largely as expected Wednesday, starting with the Houston Rockets’ selection of 7-foot-5 Chinese center Yao Ming ... with one notable exception:

The widely reported trade between the Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers fell apart.

Oh, and another deal the Clippers tried to put together for Baron Davis foundered, sources say, when Clipper owner Donald T. Sterling nixed it.

Under the proposed deal with Cleveland, the Clippers would have gotten the promising Miller for their No. 8 and 12 picks plus a player, but they couldn’t agree on the player.

The Clippers offered Corey Maggette, then made Lamar Odom available late in the process.

The Cavaliers demanded Darius Miles. The Clippers refused, according to a source, on orders from Sterling.

Meanwhile, back at the draft, selections were going as expected--Yao to the Rockets at No. 1, Duke’s Jay Williams to the Chicago Bulls at No. 2, Duke’s Mike Dunleavy to the Golden State Warriors at No. 3, Kansas’ Drew Gooden to the Memphis Grizzlies at No. 4, 6-11 Georgian wunderkind Nikoloz Tskitishvili to the Denver Nuggets at No. 5--until the Cavaliers’ choice at No. 6.

With Miller, a free agent next summer, still on their roster, they drafted another point guard, Memphis freshman Dajuan Wagner.

Then, minutes later, Clipper sources say, the Cavaliers called them back just as they were turning in their No. 8 pick--offering to make the deal for Odom if the Clippers would draft Caron Butler for them and give them No. 12.

However, the Clippers had already phoned in their selection to league officials in New York--Maryland power forward Chris Wilcox--making it official.

The Clippers then spent a feverish 10 minutes, calling the Phoenix Suns, who were drafting No. 9, and the Miami Heat, drafting No. 10, trying to trade Wilcox for either pick so they could take Butler.

The Suns had already turned in their pick, high school star Amare Stoudemire.

Heat Coach Pat Riley, who had said taking Butler would be a “no-brainer” if he fell that far, then grabbed the Connecticut standout.

Just to round out their day, the Clippers also tried to get Davis, but that didn’t work, either. The New Orleans Hornets were willing to do it for the two Clipper picks plus Odom, but the Clippers turned them down ... on orders from Sterling, sources said.

So, the Clippers wound up with Wilcox, one of the draft’s highest-rated power forwards, and Fresno State’s 6-9 Melvin Ely at No. 12, another promising young big man ... who doesn’t figure to play much, either, assuming he or Wilcox stays with the Clippers.

This left a flummoxed Elgin Baylor, the Clippers’ general manager, to explain what he was now going to do with Wilcox, Ely, Odom, Miles and Elton Brand at forward, not to mention swing men Corey Maggette and Quentin Richardson.

“If we had gone in any other direction, we’d have had a whole lot of people at that position too,” Baylor said.

The Clippers have plenty of big men, assuming they retain center Michael Olowokandi, who is a year away from free agency. They have the planet’s biggest collection of forwards and shooting guards.

However they’re thin at point guard with last season’s starter, Jeff McInnis, not expected to be re-signed, leaving only Keyon Dooling, who sat out most of last season because of an ankle injury, 5-6 Earl Boykins and soon-to-be signed European star Marko Jaric.

Equally flummoxed Coach Alvin Gentry, asked to assess the point guard situation, tried a diversionary maneuver:

“Well,” Gentry said, “we’re going to be good. It would be great to get a great point guard, but everything isn’t over.... We’ll find a way to make that position work.”

Indeed, the Cavaliers were still calling the Clippers on Wednesday night ... and Davis reportedly has told the Hornets he won’t re-sign

Wednesday’s notable winners include the Rockets, who wound up with Yao and promising European forward, Bostjan Nachbar, whom they took at No. 15.

The Bulls got Williams, generally considered to be the best bet to have an immediate impact.

The Nuggets wound up with two of the most intriguing prospects in the draft, Tskitishvili and 6-9, 250-pound Nene Hilario, and former Knicks Marcus Camby and Mark Jackson.

Then there were the Knicks, who decided they couldn’t wait for the 19-year-old Hilario to develop, and traded the pick (and Camby and Jackson) for Antonio McDyess and a low first-round pick that turned out to be Illinois point guard Frank Williams.

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*--* What They Did LAKERS * Traded point guard Lindsey Hunter and the rights to first-round pick (No. 27 overall) forward Chris Jefferies of Fresno State to Toronto for forward Tracy Murray and the rights to first-round pick (No. 20 overall) guard-forward Kareem Rush of Missouri CLIPPERS * In the first round, they selected forward Chris Wilcox of Maryland at No. 8 overall and center-forward Melvin Ely of Fresno State at No. 12. In the second round, they selected center Mario Kasun of Croatia at No. 41, then traded his rights to Orlando

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*--* Where They Went Players with Southern California connections who were drafted: * Guard Casey Jacobsen (Stanford, Glendora High) by Phoenix at No. 22 overall * Forward Tayshaun Prince (Kentucky, Compton Dominguez High) by Detroit at No. 23 * Center Dan Gadzuric (UCLA) by Milwaukee at No. 34 * Guard Tito Maddox (Fresno State, Compton High) by Houston at No. 38 * Forward Sam Clancy (USC) by Philadelphia at No. 45 * Forward Matt Barnes (UCLA) by Memphis at No. 46, with his rights traded to Cleveland * Center Jamal Sampson (California, Santa Ana Mater Dei High) by Utah at No. 47, with his rights traded to Orlando, then Milwaukee

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