Rice Ends Up Being Money for Clippers

As their long-range specialist, the Houston Rockets had Glen Rice.

They preferred Eric Piatkowski.

The Clippers had Piatkowski.

They wound up with Rice.

In an oddly roundabout way, the Clippers essentially swapped the 33-year-old Piatkowski for the 36-year-old Rice on Friday when they signed Rice, a 6-foot-8, 224-pound free agent, to a one-year, $1.5-million contract.

Piatkowski, a Clipper for nine seasons, signed a three-year, $8.5-million deal with the Rockets in July when the Clippers, busy sorting out negotiations with their other, higher-profile free agents, were slow in making him an offer.

Rice comes more cheaply, though not as cheaply as they’d hoped.

Traded last week from the Rockets to the Utah Jazz, which reached agreement with the former Laker on a contract buyout that made him a free agent, Rice could have been signed for as little as the veteran’s minimum of slightly more than $1 million, of which the NBA would have paid half.

Interest from other teams, undisclosed, drove his price up and left the Clippers on the hook for the entire $1.5 million, still a potential bargain for a player Coach Mike Dunleavy described as a “stone-cold shooter.”

Though his productivity has fallen off sharply over the last three seasons, Rice ranks among the top 50 scorers in NBA history, is a three-time All-Star and last season posted numbers strikingly similar to Piatkowski’s.

In 62 games with the Rockets, Rice averaged nine points while making 39.8% of his three-point shots. Piatkowski, in the same number of games with the Clippers, averaged 9.7 points while also making 39.8% of his three-pointers.

And when they brought Rice in for a workout Sunday, the Clippers were impressed as much by his physical appearance as his shooting touch.

“We had Glen in ... actually to eyeball him, really,” Dunleavy said Friday before the Clippers’ 88-85 exhibition loss to the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center. “The first thing is, he’s lost 25 pounds from last year, so you automatically see that. You know he’s done a bunch of work this summer.

“And then he shot the ball. The guy probably has about the best-looking shot ever. It’s a gorgeous stroke. He’s a guy that has to be guarded.

“Even if he was in a game where he wasn’t making shots, you can never leave him open, so he does his job by spacing the floor for you. And he’s got a strong post-up game ... so we were pleased to hear him say yes.”

Rice, who has averaged 18.6 points and 4.4 rebounds over a 14-year career, has averaged 10.3 points over the last three. In the 1999-2000 season, he averaged 15.9 while helping the Lakers win the first of three consecutive NBA championships.

“If he was 25 pounds heavier, I’m not sure I would have gone there,” Dunleavy said. “But seeing that he put the time in all summer long ... it’s kind of like, ‘I’ll call a shooter a shooter until he’s not a shooter.’ ”

The Clippers, thin at big guard and small forward and searching for a long-range threat after losing Lamar Odom and Piatkowski via free agency, are expected to use Rice in a three-man rotation with Quentin Richardson and Corey Maggette.

“He’s a terrific perimeter shooter ... probably one of the purest shooters ever to play this game,” General Manager Elgin Baylor said. “He’s a veteran player, a team guy, as far as the locker room. He’s supposed to be a terrific guy.

“We’ve got young players, and his experience can help.”

Rice is expected to join the Clippers in time for this weekend’s practice.

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Rookie Chris Kaman, in an impressive exhibition debut, led the Clippers with 17 points in 20 minutes, making six of eight shots. Portland’s Derek Anderson led all scorers with 18 points.