He’s Almost Part of Team

Wang Zhizhi is expected to become a Clipper at 9:01 tonight, when the 15-day deadline runs out for the Dallas Mavericks to match a three-year offer sheet worth $6 million. The Clippers have scheduled a formal announcement of Wang’s acquisition for Friday morning, along with a second personnel move that will keep their roster at the 20-player maximum for training camp.

Wang is expected to practice with the team Monday and to be available for the final exhibition game Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks at Staples Center.

“They have through the 17th to decide whether to match,” Joe Safety, Clipper vice president of communications, said Wednesday. “All we can do is wait.”

Mark Cuban, owner of the Mavericks, was considerably less formal in Dallas.

“The bottom line is he didn’t want to be here,” Cuban said of Wang, a 7-foot-1 center from China who last season averaged 5.6 points in 55 games for the Mavericks. “He wanted to go someplace where he could get a lot of minutes. It would be good to have him, but we’re not going to miss him. We’ll find the two or three points from someone else.”

Wang will give the injury-plagued Clippers some needed depth. The team lost to the Bucks, 98-76, Wednesday night in the first of a three-game exhibition trip with starting forwards Lamar Odom and Elton Brand and center Michael Olowokandi sidelined because of leg injuries. All three may miss the regular-season opener Oct. 30.

Elgin Baylor, Clipper general manager, became interested in signing Wang after seeing him play in the summer league at Long Beach State. Wang joined the Golden State Warriors’ summer league team rather than play with the Chinese national team in the World Championships last month. Last week, China suspended Wang for his desire to play with the Clippers instead of with the national team at the Asian Games.