Rookie Walks in Shaq’s Shoes

In trying to make the Clippers, Josh Moore has big shoes to fill.

His own.

The 7-foot-2, 328-pound center from Michigan, signed last week by the Clippers to a partially guaranteed free-agent contract, wears size 22.

In the NBA, the only other player with feet that big is Shaquille O’Neal, who like Moore is from Newark, N.J., and has kept the would-be Clipper in high tops since Moore, 22, was a high school freshman.

“I’m not one of those guys that has a sneaker deal yet,” Moore said Wednesday, “so I’ve pretty much got to go through him to get shoes.”

The rookie said he has known O’Neal for about six years.

He said that he and O’Neal have more in common than a gritty hometown and intimidating girth -- “We’re both good guys,” he said, laughing -- but unlike the Laker center, Moore is not a dominant player. The Clippers, though, see potential.

After he was dismissed from Michigan because of academic reasons, Moore played last season in China.

At Michigan, where he played parts of two seasons, he averaged 4.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 29 games.

He impressed the Clippers in summer workouts and, after losing about 35 pounds, is in camp this week at College of the Desert in Palm Desert.

“He’s a huge body and he’s got a decent touch,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “I think he shoots the ball OK; it’s a matter of him getting into condition, reacting and being able to do other things.

“Right now, he’s struggling with the conditioning part of it, running up and down the floor. He’s good for a couple trips, then all of a sudden the gas tank starts emptying in a hurry.”

Part of it, Moore said, is finding the right pair of shoes.

“I see what Shaq was going through last year because if you don’t have the right shoes on your feet, it can affect your whole body, and I’m going through that right now,” he said. “I’ve just got to find the right pair of Shaqs to wear.”

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Before sending a second-round draft pick to the Seattle SuperSonics this week to acquire center Predrag Drobnjak, the Clippers had not ruled out re-signing Cherokee Parks, who signed Tuesday with the Miami Heat. Parks is the sixth free agent to leave the Clippers since last season, joining Michael Olowokandi, Lamar Odom, Andre Miller, Eric Piatkowski and Sean Rooks.

Dunleavy said he probably would trim the roster from 19 to 15 or 16 before Tuesday night’s exhibition opener at Sacramento. Thirteen Clippers have fully guaranteed contracts: Drobnjak, Elton Brand, Keyon Dooling, Melvin Ely, Eddie House, Marko Jaric, Chris Kaman, Corey Maggette, Olden Polynice, Quentin Richardson, Bobby Simmons, Chris Wilcox and Wang Zhizhi. Moore and Tremaine Fowlkes have partially guaranteed contracts.