Dunleavy Gets Look at What Might Have Been

What would have happened had the Clippers acquired Ron Artest?

That’s a question Coach Mike Dunleavy has pondered and probably did again during Sunday night’s 106-96 loss to the Sacramento Kings.

Artest made four three-point baskets, scored a game-high 26 points and had five steals. The Kings followed Artest’s aggressive lead, and the Clippers weren’t up for the challenge.

“He plays aggressively and gets away with anything he wants to get away with,” Dunleavy said. “He deserves the right because he plays hard.

“The guy who’s the aggressor is going to get all the calls. You can’t complain about the guy. I don’t want to hear a complaint about the guy.”

Believing Artest would elevate the Clippers to elite status, Dunleavy pushed to trade Corey Maggette to the Indiana Pacers in January for the 2003-04 NBA defensive player of the year.

The Pacers rejected the deal because of concerns about Maggette’s left-foot injury, which sidelined him for 39 games.

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Co-captain Sam Cassell said he hoped the Clippers wouldn’t be satisfied with merely earning a playoff berth.

“Just getting to the playoffs may quench some of these guys’ thirsts around here, but it doesn’t quench mine,” said the 13-year veteran, who helped the Houston Rockets win consecutive NBA championships early in his career.

“I’ve been in the playoffs, and it’s not a good feeling to get swept, or just winning one game. It starts with me. I don’t know what more I can say, or what more I can do, to get my guys to understand that we have to hit first.

“Maybe it’s got to be heard from another voice. I’m going to talk to Vin [Baker] and Walter McCarty, so maybe they can express their feelings a little bit. They’re veterans and they know.”

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Among active players, Sacramento forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim has played the most NBA games, 736, without appearing in the playoffs.

Abdur-Rahim is second all-time behind Tom Van Arsdale, who played in 929 regular-season games.