Two Guards Work Out for Clippers

Point guards Jameer Nelson, the consensus 2003-04 college player of the year from Saint Joseph’s, and Sebastian Telfair, a high school phenom from Brooklyn, were among the players who participated in a pre-draft workout for the Clippers on Friday at the Spectrum Club in Manhattan Beach.

Nelson and Telfair ran plays with former UCLA forward T.J. Cummings and former Cal State Fullerton forward Pape Sow as Clipper Coach Mike Dunleavey and General Manager Elgin Baylor looked on.

Nelson and Telfair are expected to be first-round picks in the June 26 draft. The Clippers have the fifth pick and are expected to select a point guard.

“I liked what I saw,” Dunleavey said. “They each have some toughness and grittiness to their game and they’re very interesting.”

Nelson worked out for Portland and Golden State before coming to Los Angeles. He said this workout was just about the same as the others.

“They just want to see how you handle yourself on the pick and roll and how you shoot the ball.”

This was Telfair’s first workout for an NBA team. He expected a 2 1/2-hour workout, but it lasted only 90 minutes.

“I thought it would be much longer,” said Telfair, who has workouts scheduled with Portland, Utah, Cleveland and Atlanta. “But I knew guys were going to come out and play real hard and they did.”

-- Peter Yoon

*

Though the Sacramento Kings will contemplate several changes in the wake of their second-round playoff loss, Coach Rick Adelman will be back next season, according to Geoff Petrie, the Kings’ president of basketball operations.

“I think Rick’s done an excellent job,” Petrie said. “He’s been the best coach for this team. He’s maintained the respect of the players.”

Adelman has led the Kings to the playoffs in each of his six seasons in charge.