Focus Returns to Simmons and Jaric

It’s on to Plan B.

With Ray Allen having reached an agreement Tuesday to remain with the Seattle SuperSonics and Michael Redd seemingly wavering between staying with the Milwaukee Bucks or bolting to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Clippers apparently have again struck out in their bid to add a marquee shooting guard.

Last week, the Boston Herald reported that the Clippers had offered a package including Corey Maggette to the Boston Celtics for All-Star guard Paul Pierce, who played at Inglewood High, but that the Celtics expressed no interest.

A year ago, the Clippers lost out in a bid to land Kobe Bryant.

They are now expected to renew efforts to re-sign their free agents, among them Bobby Simmons and Marko Jaric, while also pursuing a less expensive shooting guard among a group including Cuttino Mobley and Larry Hughes.

No deals can be signed before a moratorium ends July 22.

On Tuesday, however, Allen’s agent said that the All-Star guard had agreed to terms of a five-year, $85-million contract to stay with the SuperSonics. The deal includes $80 million in salary and $5 million in bonuses.

“When Ray became a free agent and had a chance to explore opportunities, we were able to report back to the Sonics on what the market was dictating and they essentially responded accordingly,” agent Lon Babby said during a conference call with reporters, according to Associated Press. “We tried to get it done over these many months, but both sides needed verification from the marketplace.”

Mobley’s agent, meanwhile, called the Clippers “one of the few teams” his client was considering, adding that the two sides continue to talk.

“We have a high-level interest,” Andy Miller said on behalf of Mobley, an unrestricted free agent after finishing last season with the Sacramento Kings and then opting out of a contract that would have paid him $6.4 million next season. “They seem to as well, and we’re having ongoing conversations.”

The Clippers also continue to closely monitor Simmons.

“They’re trying to do everything they can to improve their team, so I think they’re looking at a lot of different things,” Simmons’ agent, Mark Bartelstein, said of the Clippers. “But they’ve certainly made it clear that they want Bobby back.”

He and the Clippers, Bartelstein said, “talked all weekend and will keep talking.”

The Houston Rockets are among the teams said to be interested in Simmons, an unrestricted free agent who received the NBA’s award for most improved player last season.

The Denver Nuggets reportedly are among the teams wooing Jaric. Jaric is a restricted free agent, meaning the Clippers could match any offer from another team.

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Chris Wilcox has not determined whether he’ll play for the Clippers’ summer league team in Las Vegas this month after being charged last week in Maryland with transporting a handgun in a vehicle, his agent said.

Jeff Fried, the player’s representative, said a decision will be made after he and Wilcox meet today in Washington to discuss their next move.

A hearing in the case was set for Aug. 9 in Ellicott City, Md.

The Clippers’ summer league schedule runs from Thursday to July 15.

Wilcox, who helped Maryland win the 2002 NCAA championship, was stopped on U.S. Route 29 in Columbia, Md., about 1 a.m. on June 27 after an officer saw him struggling to keep his car in a lane, police said.

After a K-9 unit arrived, Wilcox passed a field sobriety test. But when the dog reacted to the silver BMW the three-year Clipper veteran was driving, Wilcox was asked whether there was anything inside the car. He said there was a gun.

A .357 Ruger revolver with one spent shell casing in it was found in a pocket behind the passenger seat. Live ammunition and two other spent shell casings also were found in the car, police said.

“On any legal matter, we’re a little bit limited as to what we can say,” Fried said of the matter, “but it’s certainly being dealt with.”

He said that Wilcox, facing a maximum three years in prison and $2,500 fine, was “disappointed” in the arrest “in light of all the circumstances. But those are the facts that will come out. We feel pretty comfortable with the facts as they transpired, but because it’s in a legal context, it’s very limited what one can say.”

He did not elaborate.

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Sofoklis Schortsanitis, the Clippers’ second-round pick in the 2003 draft, was not given clearance from the Greek national team and will not be joining the Clippers in Las Vegas, as the club had hoped. Schortsanitis, 6 feet 10 and 280 pounds, has played professionally in Greece the last two seasons.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Free agents

Prominent NBA players who are still available in the free-agent market (U-unrestricted free agent; R-restricted free agent; P-player option; T-player can terminate):

*--* GUARDS Name Team Jon Barry Houston-U Larry Hughes Washington-U Joe Johnson Phoenix-R Eddie Jones Miami-T Kerry Kittles Clippers-U Cuttino Mobley Sacramento-T Gary Payton Boston-R Michael Redd Milwaukee-P Jalen Rose Toronto-T Damon Stoudamire Portland-U Bonzi Wells Memphis-T

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*--* FORWARDS Shareef Abdur-Rahim Portland-U Tyson Chandler Chicago-R Devean George Lakers-P Brian Grant Lakers-T Udonis Haslem Miami-R Grant Hill Orlando-T Robert Horry San Antonio-P Kyle Korver Philadelphia-R Bobby Simmons Clippers-U Latrell Sprewell Minnesota-U Stromile Swift Memphis-U Keith Van Horn Dallas-T Antoine Walker Boston-U

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*--* CENTERS Eddy Curry Chicago-R Zydrunas Ilgauskas Cleveland-U Dikembe Mutombo Houston-U Shaquille O’Neal Miami-T

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