Clippers Like Their Chances

It’s a time of hope for the Clippers, who haven’t had much in their past.

Owner Donald T. Sterling’s franchise has had only five winning seasons and six playoff appearances in its 34 seasons, and the team has not finished .500 in more than a decade.

Of course, things can change.

The Clippers believe good times are right around the corner, or at least they’re finally on the right road, as training camp opens today at Santa Barbara City College.

With the off-season addition of starting guards Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley, the Clippers say they’re ready to start a positive trend.

“You get questions on a lot of things that happened in the past, about losing streaks to different teams, that had nothing to do with this team,” forward Elton Brand said. “That’s all going to change. We now have the type of team to change it.”

The Clippers plan to lay the groundwork in a camp that ends Oct. 11. Coaches and players expressed confidence in improving on last season’s record of 37-45, good for third place in the Western Conference’s Pacific Division.

The team won nine more games than in Coach Mike Dunleavy’s first season. “Probably the strongest statement I would make since being here is that, for the first time, we have a real legitimate chance of making the playoffs,” Dunleavy said.

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Forward Corey Maggette is dealing with a family situation in Chicago, and it hasn’t been determined when he’ll report to camp.

-- Jason Reid