A First Could Come at No. 4

Shaun Livingston is expected to make history tonight, becoming the first point guard to jump directly from high school star to NBA lottery pick.

The Clippers, picking fourth, may make the leap with him, believing the lanky Livingston to be a rare talent.

A safer pick for the Clippers, whose most pressing need is for a point guard, probably would be Ben Gordon of Connecticut or Devin Harris of Wisconsin, either of whom is thought more ready to make the transition to the NBA.

Taking Livingston, who measured 6 feet 6 1/4 with a nearly 7-foot wingspan at the predraft camp in Chicago this month, would be the bolder move.

Though most experts believe Livingston’s long-term potential to be far greater than that of any other point guard in the draft, he could be in over his head next season. Originally committed to Duke, Livingston won’t turn 19 until Sept. 11, less than a month before the start of training camp in Santa Barbara.

And until he fills out, his slight build could leave him susceptible to the rigors of a grueling, 82-game NBA schedule. He weighed 186 pounds at the predraft camp, about 16 more than he reportedly weighed during his senior season at Peoria Central High in Illinois, where he twice led the school to Class AA state championships and last season was the state’s Mr. Basketball.

On the plus side, he’s tall and rangy, a savvy and inventive playmaker said to possess a good feel for the game.

Nor would he be the first Clipper from Peoria Central High.

The team’s most creative and dependable performer over two decades in Los Angeles -- announcer Ralph Lawler -- also graduated from Peoria Central.

“Five years from now,” an NBA source said Wednesday, speaking not of Lawler but of Livingston, “people will wonder why he wasn’t the No. 1 pick.”

The Clippers’ biggest worry Wednesday was whether the Chicago Bulls, who hold the third pick, would trade it to a team with designs on Livingston. With the top two slots in the draft thought reserved for Emeka Okafor and Dwight Howard, the Bulls were said to be leaning toward Luol Deng or Andre Iguodala, though it was also speculated that they might take Gordon.

But if the Bulls believe they can get a player they want with a later pick, they might swing a deal that would foil the Clippers’ plans.

The Clippers had the second pick before trading it Monday to the Charlotte Bobcats. In exchange, they got the fourth and 33rd picks, the Bobcats also agreeing to take backup center Predrag Drobnjak in Tuesday’s expansion draft.

If Livingston is gone, the Clippers almost surely would choose between the 6-1 Gordon, who in April helped Connecticut win the national championship, and the 6-2 Harris, the Big Ten player of the year last season.

Both are 21. Both played three seasons in college.

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Keyon Dooling, the Clippers’ starting point guard in 24 games last season and the 10th pick in the 2000 draft, is not expected to be tendered a contract before June 30, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Dooling, who averaged 6.2 points and 2.2 assists last season, was left unprotected in the expansion draft.

Doug Overton, who started 11 games at point guard for the Clippers, also is an unrestricted free agent and not expected to return.