Clippers Face an Exodus

Let the plundering begin.

Or, at the very least, the attempted plundering.

It’s no secret the Clippers have an entire starting five that other teams covet and there’s no getting around that free agency could bring dramatic changes to the Clipper roster. Negotiations on free-agent contracts can begin today, with players eligible to sign with new teams or re-sign with old ones July 16.

Guards Corey Maggette and Andre Miller and center Michael Olowokandi could become members of the Denver Nuggets in slightly more than two weeks, small forward Lamar Odom could be on his way to the Miami Heat and power forward Elton Brand could be headed for the San Antonio Spurs.

OK, so that’s one nightmare scenario for the Clippers.

There are other scenarios, one almost as farfetched.

That would involve the Clippers holding onto Olowokandi, an unrestricted free agent as of today, and Brand, Maggette, Miller and Odom, who are restricted free agents.

Reserves Cherokee Parks, Eric Piatkowski and Sean Rooks also are eligible to become unrestricted free agents today.

“Our plan is to try to make every effort to get our core group back for next season,” General Manager Elgin Baylor said Monday. “We’ll wait and see and do something of substance and start talking to agents [today].”

Because of league rules, Baylor could speak only in general terms Monday.

“I have not read any of it,” Baylor said when asked about rampant media speculation that more aggressive general managers would strip the Clippers of their top free agents. “I can’t make any comments. It’s probably what people have been writing about us all along.”

The Clippers have the right to match any outside offers for Brand, Maggette, Miller and Odom, although it’s unclear if they could or would match on all four, if it came to that. It would be cheaper for the Clippers to reach new agreements with those four and avoid playing the matching game.

Brand, Maggette, Miller and Odom also could accept one-season qualifying offers from the Clippers, as Olowokandi did last summer, which would make it impossible for the team to trade them in 2003-04. The team might also end up simply losing them, once they became unrestricted free agents July 1, 2004.

Olowokandi is free to sign with the highest bidder, although there is some doubt about how high he might go. His stock dropped last season, when he underwent season-ending knee surgery and played in only 36 games. His hopes for a so-called max-out contract were torpedoed and it’s likely he will sign for something in the relatively modest range of $6 million.

It might also mean he’ll re-sign with the Clippers, who paid him roughly that much in 2002-03. He would not rule out returning to the team that made him the top overall pick in the 1998 draft.

Donald Sterling, the team’s owner, is known to be a fan of Brand’s lunch-bucket style of play and Odom’s on- and off-court charisma, so it’s possible each could be signed to a long-term extension, with the team’s core preserved. But that also could mean Maggette and Miller will be headed out of town.

Maggette’s name is believed to be atop the wish lists of several teams, one being the Nuggets, who could have a whopping $18 million under the salary cap to use to further bolster the lineup after drafting Carmelo Anthony last week. The Chicago Bulls also have an interest in Maggette.

Miller could be the first to go. The Nuggets may be interested if they decide not to pursue Golden State’s Gilbert Arenas, a more expensive alternative.

Of course, there also have been persistent rumors that Miller could replace the recently retired John Stockton as point guard with the Utah Jazz. Much of the rationale behind those stories is that Miller excelled at the University of Utah and is as fond of Salt Lake City as its fans are of him.

Then again, Miller is a Los Angeles native and everyone assumed he would be a perfect fit with the Clippers, who acquired him last summer from the Cleveland Cavaliers for Darius Miles.

He wasn’t.

And it’s not difficult seeing the Clippers satisfied with Keyon Dooling and Marko Jaric running the point next season. Quentin Richardson would then replace Piatkowski as the starting shooting guard if Piatkowski signed elsewhere.

With Brand and Odom re-signed -- in a best-case scenario for the Clippers -- the forward spots would be locked up.

The Clippers drafted center Chris Kaman to either back up or replace Olowokandi in the middle. They also have Wang Zhizhi, a work in progress, and second-year player Melvin Ely, on the short side at 6 feet 10.

At any rate, two weeks’ worth of calling agents and swapping contract offers begins today. How it plays out is anyone’s guess. One thing is certain. Baylor said last week that he won’t be pursuing any outside free agents.

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Clipper Free Agents

*--* UNRESTRICTED Michael Olowokandi...Center Cherokee Parks...Forward Eric Piatkowski...Guard Sean Rooks...Center RESTRICTED Elton Brand...Forward Lamar Odom...Forward Andre Miller...Guard Corey Maggette...Forward Complete NBA free-agent list...D6

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