Kittles to Be Out for a While

Kerry Kittles, the Clippers’ most significant off-season pickup, has told teammates he probably won’t play before Thanksgiving.

The shooting guard, acquired in a July trade with the New Jersey Nets, has not practiced with his new teammates, his right knee having limited his activity since arthroscopic surgery in June.

Neither Kittles nor the team has given a timetable for his return, though Coach Mike Dunleavy said last week that it was “more than likely” Kittles would open the season on the injured list, making him ineligible for the first five games. Dunleavy called the situation “the curveball in the mix” as the Clippers prepare for their Nov. 3 opener against the Seattle SuperSonics at Staples Center.

The Clippers will have played 11 games before facing the Nets on Thanksgiving, the first of four games in five days to end the season’s first month.

Kittles, 30, is being counted on to provide veteran leadership and backcourt versatility for the Clippers, who gave up their rights to Quentin Richardson to make room for Kittles, a seven-year starter for the Nets.

Kittles’ absence probably will result in more playing time and increased responsibility for rookie Shaun Livingston, the first true point guard to jump directly from high school to the NBA and the fourth pick in the June draft.

“I feel real good about where Shaun is, as far as his development,” said Dunleavy, who probably will start Corey Maggette in the backcourt alongside point guard Marko Jaric, with Bobby Simmons filling in at small forward. “He’s so much further ahead defensively than I could have hoped....

“When you draft somebody that young, you want to try to give him playing time to develop but you don’t want to do it to the detriment of your team, and usually that means at the defensive end of the floor.

“He’s more than held his own at that end, so he will be able to get minutes. That’s going to give him a chance to be on the floor and have a chance to develop.”

Kittles had surgery to clean out scar tissue in his knee about a month before the Clippers acquired him for a second-round draft pick. He sat out the 2000-01 season because of an injury to the same knee.

Though he passed a physical and was cleared to play by the Clippers’ medical staff, Kittles sought a second opinion because of a clicking sound in the knee. He was advised to take part in a six-week conditioning program designed to strengthen the knee, which he started six weeks ago.

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Elton Brand, sidelined since Oct. 16 because of left knee soreness, returned to practice and was listed as probable for tonight’s exhibition against the Golden State Warriors at Oakland.