Piatkowski Lauded for His Longevity

Eric Piatkowski will play in his 559th game as a Clipper tonight, when the team faces the New Jersey Nets.

“That shows unbelievable dedication,” Coach Alvin Gentry said. “It is a big deal.”

Maybe they should award Piatkowski a medal of valor.

In the franchise’s history, only Randy Smith played in more games, and he never wore a Los Angeles Clipper uniform. Smith toiled for 715 games as a member of the Buffalo Braves and, when the club relocated in 1978, the San Diego Clippers.

Loy Vaught played 558 games in eight seasons as an L.A. Clipper from 1990-91 to 1997-98. Piatkowski tied Vaught for second on the all-time Clipper list when he scored 18 points during a 101-99 overtime loss Wednesday to the Philadelphia 76ers.

“I think it’s been nice for me to stay with one team in one city,” said Piatkowski, ignoring for a moment the team’s 194-434 regular-season record and its 0-3 playoff mark during his nine seasons.

On the plus side, Piatkowski has scored 4,707 points during a career that began in 1994. And he scored 16 more during the Clippers’ three-game sweep at the hands of the Utah Jazz in the first round of the 1997 playoffs.

“I would like to think I’ve made it through the bad times and that now we’re into the good times,” he said. “It would have been simple to take the easy way out, pouting and asking for a trade. I think I’ve earned the right to see some of the benefits.”

Then, because he has been a Clipper for his entire NBA career, he paused before adding, “Who knows how things are going to turn out?”

Piatkowski, a shooting guard, will become an unrestricted free agent July 1, as will Michael Olowokandi. Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, Andre Miller and Lamar Odom are eligible to become restricted free agents, with the Clippers able to match the offer of any other team.

Piatkowski, 32, refuses to think past tonight’s game against the Nets, however.

He knows the Clippers’ history of failing to retain talented players. He recalls the failed negotiations last summer that could have locked up Brand and Olowokandi to lucrative long-term deals and eased the anxiety level in the dressing room.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Piatkowski said. “I’ll keep those thoughts out of my head until the season is over. It would be nice to finish my career here [as a Clipper]. If not, I’ll just go someplace else where I’m needed.

“I can’t control if we play as a team. We have the talent to compete. I feel we’re going to win whenever we walk out on the floor. There were some times when that wasn’t the case. I used to walk on the floor and say, ‘Uh, oh.’ We just didn’t have the talent to compete. I just hoped it wasn’t going to be an embarrassing night.

“I think we can come together and play fine. We have Michael and Elton healthy now. We have a great point guard in Andre Miller. We have a lot of depth. We’re a talented team.

“There’s no reason to get down or depressed.”

*

TONIGHT

at New Jersey, 4:30 PST

Site -- Continental Airlines Arena.

Radio -- KXTA (1150).

Records -- Clippers 1-3, Nets 4-1.

Record vs. Nets (2001-02) -- 0-2.

Update -- Maggette and Quentin Richardson, suffering from knee injuries, practiced Thursday and are expected to play tonight against the defending Eastern Conference champion Nets.