October 2008 Archives

Just got word that Baron Davis (bruised/sore hip) is doubtful for Saturday's game in Utah. He will most likely stay home and get treatment.

Baron Davis was to the locker room with a bruised tailbone after falling very hard on his tailbone midway through the second quarter and is questionable to return.

He was able to get up and walk off under his own power, but came out of the game while Denver guard Dahntay Jones was shooting free throws and headed straight to the locker room.

Davis was called for a foul on the play. He was undercut while in the air and fell directly on his tailbone. He did not brace himself with either hand, presumably because he's still nursing a partially torn ligament in his left ring finger.

UPDATE: Davis' injury is now being termed a sore left hip instead of a bruised tailbone.

Rookie center DeAndre Jordan was inactive again tonight, which makes you wonder whether he's a candidate to be sent to the D-League at some point.

``Yeah, it's possible he could do that,'' coahc Mike Dunelavy said before the game. ``Basically with DeAndre, he's a rookie and he's got a lot to learn yet.

``We really have been pleased by what he's done and how hard he works but there's such a curve. A lot of these guys come in and they haven't seen different sets around the league, it doesn't come automatically to them. You got to experience it a little more, in his case.''

Would Dunleavy consider the same thing for rookie guard Mike Taylor?

``Probably not. He's played well and we need three point guards at all times because somebody could get injured,'' Dunleavy said.

Just got official word that Marcus Camby is inactive for tonight's game against the Nuggets

The starters are the same as Wednesday:

Baron Davis
Cuttino Mobley
Al Thornton
Tim Thomas
Chris Kaman

3 Questions:

- What was the mood in practice?

I'm just going to answer your first one since a couple others asked similar questions later on...

I don't know that I'd agree Kaman has been ``horrible.'' To be honest, I don't think it's fair to judge him after exhibition and one regular season games when he's constantly teaming with a new point guard, teammates, etc. And, he has yet to play with Marcus Camby. Basically, I think Chris started slowly and didn't turn it on in the first couple of games, which he admitted to, but he's had a couple decent games since. For Chris to be successful though, the Clippers have to have a consistent, concerted effort to feed him the ball in the low post and let him work. There has been no consistency to this first part of the season.

Humiliation can either break you down or it can make you stronger. What is the overall mindset of the team heading into Friday evening's game?

As for the mood of the team after Wednesday's drubbing and Baron's team meeting, I'd say it was subdued. Hard to tell if it was head-between-the-tail subdued, or just we-got-embarrassed-on-national TV subdued. But my general experience has been that when an athlete is embarrassed, they generally tend to shut up and focus inward on the issues until they solve them. These guys get paid a lot of money, but they still have pride. And when that pride is undercut, by a loss like that, all attention is generally directed inward, rather than outward. Hence my perception that they were subdued in the locker room after the game and at practice on Thursday.

Does Camby have a target date for his return?

He said after Thursday's practice that his target date is Monday. There is about a 2 percent chance he'd play before that, but he's mentioned on more than one occasion how it would be tough to come back on a back-to-back, which the Clippers have Friday and Saturday.

I finally got the story on how Camby injured his right heel. Apparently he landed on the foot of Dontell Jefferson, a free agent who is no longer with the team.

Marcus Camby went through his first, full-contact practice in nearly three weeks on Thursday, but the target date for his return is being set for Monday's game against Utah.

Camby hasn't been ruled out of Friday's game against Denver, or Saturday's game in Utah, but coach Mike Dunleavy said it was ``very doubtful'' he'd play.

Got any? Get them in by 10 a.m. Friday and I'll answer them throughout the weekend.

Latest word from the locker room has Baron Davis and Tim Thomas ready to go, and Marcus Camby out, possibly for the next 2-3 games.

Starting Lineups

Clips
Baron Davis
Cuttino Mobley
Chris Kaman
Tim Thomas
Al Thornton

Lakers
Vladimir Radmanovic
Pau Gasol
Andrew Bynum
Kobe Bryant
Derek Fisher

Inactives: Marcus Camby, DeAndre Jordan; Sun Yue, DJ Mbenga

Here's the story I just filed advancing the Clippers season opener Wednesday night.

By Ramona Shelburne
Staff Writer

PLAYA VISTA -- Hold the parade and the ``Welcome Home'' dinners for a little while.

Baron Davis is back in his hometown, a newly-minted 65 million-dollar-man, and yes, he will most likely play in Wednesday night's season opener against the Lakers after missing nearly three weeks with a finger injury.

But he wants all the hoopla put on ice for a while.

``I want to establish myself and set my mark. I just want to get to the season and see what I got to offer, then let the city get a glimpse of what we have in store in the years to come,'' the former Crossroads High and UCLA star said Tuesday after going through a complete practice for the first time in nearly three weeks.

``I ain't throwing any parties or welcome home dinners. There's a certain way to do this. I want to do the work first before I take credit for anything. I haven't done anything yet but just come to the Clippers.''

With himself and forwards Tim Thomas and Marcus missing virtually all of training camp with an assortment of injuries, Davis knows that might take a little while.

A murderous early season schedule doesn't make it any easier. The Clippers play 12 of their first 15 games against teams that made the playoffs last season.

``The most important thing is for us just to be patient with each other as a team, knowing that we're going to hit some bumps and lumps early because we lost the preseason,'' Davis said.

``Really everybody is new because no one has played with each other before. So it's going to take some time. We can develop an attitude and an identity early and once we establish that it's just about building on it.''

That said, Davis' early season goals are modest. He's hoping for at least five games over .500 by the All-Star break, keeping the team in playoff contention but also allowing room for growing pains.

In keeping with that theme, Davis said he's thinking of leaving his beard long, at least in the beginning of the season.

The beard, which made him something of a cult figure up in the Bay Area when he led the Golden State Warriors to their shocking first round upset of the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks two seasons ago, helps to remind Davis that success in the NBA is a ``struggle'' and a ``grind.''

``I was going to switch up my look and have a clean cut when I came to L.A., but I might keep it for opening night,'' he said. ``It's like my little protective layer, letting me know that I'm still in the struggle. I've been hurt, I've been in the grind. So I might leave it for opening might. Once we get rolling, maybe I'll cut it off.''

Injury updates: Thomas (groin) is also probable for Wednesday night's game. He was able to complete the entire practice Tuesday afternoon.

``It's there. I'm moving and doing pretty much everything I want to do on the court,'' Thomas said. ``The hardest part is just wearing the protective pieces the staff has given me to protect it. I kind threw that away and just went with it today. It's just mind over matter right now. Its a sleeve that keeps it warm or whatever, but it's just uncomfortable.''

Marcus Camby (bruised heel) is doubtful. He has yet to return to practice, doing mostly running and shooting on a side court.

``I think Baron and Tim will play, but I'm still very doubtful on Marcus,'' Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. ``He's out until he can show that he's ready to go. He's doing a lot of underwater treadmill stuff, trying to keep conditioning that way.''

Davis will play with his left, non-shooting ring finger taped to his middle finger, and splinted with a hard plastic sheath.

!

Less than 1400 tickets remaining for Wednesday's game against the Lakers, as of a note I got from the club Tuesday morning. Tickets are priced at $37.50- $225.

It looks like Baron Davis and Tim Thomas will play in tommorrow's season opener. Officially they are probable, which means that they could technically sit out if they have any kind of setback, but after talking to coach Dunleavy and both guys after practice today, it sounded pretty solid that they'd be out there. Both went through the full practice today.

Marcus Camby (bruised heel) is officially listed as ``doubtful'' and I wouldn't be surprised, at this point if he missed the first two or three games.

Here are the links to the season preview I filed for today's paper, and the five burning questions the Clippers bring with them into the season.

Baron Davis and Tim Thomas practiced today and subjected themselves to ``limited contact,'' which was an upgrade from yesterday's ``no contact.''

Marcus Camby didn't practice again, but is ``feeling better.''

No determination on any of their status' for Wednesday's season opener will be made until at least Tuesday afternoon, but more likely Wednesday morning.

Baron Davis (finger) and Tim Thomas (groin) were able to participate full court, non-contact portions of the Clippers practice Sunday, but center Marcus Camby (bruised heel) was still out.

Their status for Wednesday's season opener is still unknown.

Here's the last set of answers. Thanks for all the questions folks. I'll open the floor up again in the middle of next week and do it again.

Is coach working on improving ball movement on offense? It seems like the better teams in the West really move the ball around, and I'm not sure the Clippers are emphasizing this.

Coach is emphasizing a lot of things in training camp, but nothing more so than the importance of defense. Every player in the lockeroom talks about it. The other night, I asked Ricky Davis whether the Clippers had a chance to be like the Phoenix Suns or Golden State Warriors of the last few years and he said he'd rather be like the Boston Celtics of last year.

That said, with regard to the offense, it's been very hard to tell yet what kind of team the Clippers will be because of all the injuries. So much of the offense will flow from Baron Davis that it's not even worth drawing conclusions from the way the team has played during exhibition games.

How is everyone getting along (on-court/off-court chemistry) and adjusting to their new teammates? How are the vets (Cat, Kaman, Thomas, etc.) liking the new training facility?

From the looks of things, Mobley and Thomas have bonded very quickly with the new guys, specifically with Baron Davis. Mobley and Baron are the unquestioned leaders of the team at this point. Kaman, I think, takes his time a bit more. That doesn't mean he's not fitting in though. When people get to know him, he's quite endearing. As Baron put it on his blog, ``Chris Kaman is funny as hell!!! How does this guy not have his own reality show...? Seriously, I'm gonna follow him around with my camera after practice and call it "Life On Mars." I want royalties if they go with that name tho... LOL.''

The practice facility is hard not to love. It's state of the art in every way. I'd even venture to say it's one of the nicest complexes in the NBA.

Are they still looking for a 4th PG? Is Lindsay Hunter still being considered?

As far as I know, no. Lindsey Hunter was brought in when the team was still awaiting word on the severity of Baron Davis' finger injury. He had a really good workout, so if Baron has any setbacks, I'm sure Hunter would be right back in the picture. But as far as I know, the team is going with the 14 players it has right now on the roster. They had been pretty adamant about wanting to stick with 14 all through training camp, which is why Jelani McCoy is gone even though he had a pretty good camp.

The Clippers released 1,000 seats in all price categories previously held for package sales for the October 29 game against the Lakers. To purchase tickets, call 800-4-NBA TIX or visit www.ticketmaster.com

Everyone knows that the New Jersey Nets are on their rebuilding mode. Well just by saying that... Are the Clips making an offer to trade Cat Mobley & Tim Thomas for Vince Carter?

The Clippers have continuous discussions with a lot of teams, just as all NBA teams do. That doesn't mean anything is imminent. And I'd say a deal for Carter is unlikely, mostly because if New Jersey were to trade Vince, it'd be very hard to a. sell tickets in the short run and b. convince LeBron James in 2010 that the situation there offers him a greater chance to win than he's currently got in Cleveland. Also, since the object of that kind of a trade would be to unload Carter's contract for two contracts that have only two years left on them --thus clearing space for the summer of 2010-- why would the Clippers want to help New Jersey out? Wouldn't it be smarter to just clear space for 2010 for themselves...

Whats the latest on Sofo? Are they ever going to bring him over from Greece? When do they lose his rights?

I'm going to have to look into this one and get back to you next week. Sorry about that. If you read Greek, have a look at his website and tell me what it says :) I noticed there was still a link to the Clippers on it.

I thought I saw somewhere that we had the T-wolves first round pick next year. Is that true or is it lottery protected like the previous years?

Yes, it's true. But the pick is Top 10 protected until 2012, the seventh year after the Marko Jaric trade. That means the Clips get Minnesota's first round pick as soon as that pick is 11 or higher until 2012, when they'd get Minnesota's first round pick unconditionally.

Question: What is the deal with Tim Thomas? When will he return? Seems like he's always having groin or back problems. I think he is one who will really benefit from having Baron man the point, as witnessed in the Clips-Lakers game a couple weeks ago.

I actually just spoke with Tim about this yesterday and got the impression that he's just being extra, extra cautious with this injury because it's the preseason. If this were the regular season, it's reasonable to assume he'd be playing right now. I don't blame him at all because groin injuries, like hamstrings or quads, tend to linger if you don't take your time coming back from them.

That said, it's disappointing both he and Baron have missed so much time this preseason. Before they got hurt, Mike Dunleavy said that this was the best Tim had ``ever looked'' since he came to L.A. Not surprising when you remember that Tim's most productive years came as a member of the run-and-gun Phoenix Suns, when he had an elite point guard --Steve Nash -- finding him for spot up 3s. In the first two weeks of training camp, it seemed like Thomas and Baron had that chemistry as well. I expect Thomas to be ready for opening night on Wednesday. Baron will probably be ready, but we have to see how it goes this weekend when he tries to practice for the first time.

Can you talk to Dunleavy about his suits? Man! I thought I had bad taste in clothes! Who dresses the guy? Or maybe that's the problem, he needs someone to dress him!


I know coach pretty well at this point, but not well enough to know who dresses him. Sorry, there are certain things that are and should stay off the record. That said, I have noticed Mike likes to mix and match jackets and pants. Light jacket, dark pants. Dark jacket, light pants. It's just his look. I watch Project Runway, but that's really the extent of my fashion experience, so I wouldn't feel qualified to make any statements on the ``fashionable-ness'' (is that a word?) of his style.

I've been a clipper fan for 20 years and can't remember them updating their uniforms like other teams. I desperately want to buy some clipper gears for my 3 year old and my new son (born last week) but can't stand their old, tired look. Are they ever going to update their uniforms? Can you please ask them to update their uniforms?

Congrats on the newborn! Don't know that they make Clipper gear for kids quite that young though. As for plans on new uniforms, I'm pretty sure that has to go through the league office so it's not just up to the Clippers. A couple of years ago though, they did add the blue jerseys. They don't wear them very often, but they are in the repertoire. Don't know how you feel about blue, but it is a different look.

``OK, here's one... Do you know the contract details for rookies DeAndre Jordan and Mike Taylor? I've seen a few different reports. They've usually been reported as 2 year deals, but ShamSports.com (usually pretty reliable) shows a non-guaranteed third year (which would be great, especially for 2010 cap space).

The Clippers liked both Taylor and Jordan enough to give them three-year contracts, however only the first year is guaranteed. Jordan is making $550,000 this season, Taylor $500,000. The league minimum for rookies is $442,114 so both guys are making more than that.

Their second and third years become guaranteed if they're on the roster after a certain date. I wasn't able to pin down exactly which dates, but I believe it's July 31 after the first year and July 1 after the second year. In year two, both would make the second-year minimum of $736,420. In year three, the minimum would be $854,389.

The team's philosophy on both guys was to reward them with more than the minimum salary in their rookie year in exchange for a longer contract (three-years).

Chris Kaman has looked completely out of it during the preseason and during the Olympics. Horrible strings of turnovers, can't make a short shot. Hopefully last night's game was a sign that he's waking up. My question is: Is he OK? Is he injured or tired? Has he been using the biofeedback machine all summer?

From what I understand, Chris' feet and ankles are generally OK, but he's having some lingering pain and soreness in them, so he's got to keep an eye on it. It's hard to put a label on what's ailing him. It's basically a combination of plantar fasciitis and just ``soreness'' that happens after a player comes back from a serious ankle injury. One day after practice, coach Dunleavy was telling us all about the high-tech ways the team has for treating plantar fasciitis, so it seems like they're doing everything they can to keep a handle on it.

Generally speaking though, this is not uncommon for 7-footers like Kaman, who have to be especially vigilant about their feet and ankles.

As for his slow start, Kaman was quoted in this newspaper and the Times the other night as saying he didn't bring the level of intensity that he needed to and ``that's on me.'' After that, he went out and had two pretty good preseason games, so it looks like that issue has been self-corrected.

Just got done speaking with Baron Davis, Tim Thomas and Marcus Camby and the latest is, all are trying to get back for the season opener against the Lakers on October 29, but no one is definitively ruling themselves in.

Thomas actually, is ruling himself out of Friday's exhibition finale, saying he wants to be a little cautious with the injured groin which has caused him to miss all but one exhibition game.

Of the three, it sounded as if Thomas was the closest to returning, followed by Davis and then Camby.

Camby said he's going to get a cortisone shot on his injured right heel Friday morning in the hopes it helps to control some of the pain and allows him to get a few practices in before opening night.

``I probably still need a couple more weeks of healing, but the time right now is not on my side with the season approaching in five or six days so I'm trying to do everything possible to get back out on the court,'' Camby said.

When I asked whether it was possible he'd sit out a couple more weeks, Camby said, ``No. I'm long overdue. I've been wanting to get out there on that court for some time now. I definitely want to get out there opening night.''

And if not opening night, what are the chances of Camby playing in the October 31 game against Denver?

``It's a great chance,'' he said. `` A lot of people are going to hype that game to be a revenge game or something like that, but honestly I'm just looking forward to seeing the guys again. They're the guys I been with the last six years and we developed lifelong bonds, so just being out there on the court is going to be like reminicent of being in practice with those guys, so it's nothing against the team at all.''

The Clippers waived Jelani McCoy after last night's game with the Trailblazers, trimming their roster down to 14. McCoy, the former UCLA product, had played in six of the seven exhibition games, averaging 3.5 points and 2.7 rebounds.

By Ramona Shelburne
Staff Writer

So just how serious were the Clippers' contingency plans if the diagnosis on Baron Davis' sprained left ring finger came back negatively? Apparently, serious enough to have free agent guard Lindsey Hunter in for a workout this week.

``We worked him out and he looked great,'' Clippers coach and general manager Mike Dunleavy said. ``He's in great shape, and a good veteran guy.''

Now that the Clippers have official word that Davis should only be out another week and doesn't need surgery, it's unlikely they'd sign Hunter, who won NBA championships with the Lakers in 2001-02 and Detroit in 2003-04.

For his career, Hunter has averaged 8.8 points, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals. He's been a key reserve for Detroit since 2003.

New feature here on Inside the Clippers. Post any questions you've got for me by 10 a.m. on Friday and I'll answer them Friday night and over the weekend. Just comment on this entry and you'll start seeing answers by Friday afternoon.

--Ramona

Ugh, that was ugly. Did the three games in four days finally catch up to the Clippers?
Or is Phoenix really that serious about playing better defense this year?

Phoenix coach Terry Porter could've taken some credit. After all, isn't that he was brought to town to do? But Porter wasn't about to take too much credit:

``I don't know if was as much of our defense as bad offense, or both. Both teams had some bad stretches,'' Porter said. ``For a while, I think both of us had only scored about 68 points before we went on a little spurt.''

Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy wasn't happy either.

``The effort wasn't good. Our intensity wasn't as good as we needed it to be. When a team get the opportunity to roll you, they will,'' Dunleavy said.

Now for some of the gory details:

The Clippers shot just 33.8 percent for the night, Phoenix shot 44.6 percent. From behind the 3-point arc, it was positively horrific. L.A. made just 1 of 12 shots, Phoenix made 2 of 14. About the only place either team could hit anything was at the free throw line, where the Clippers shot 71.4 percent and the Suns hit 72 percent

The Clippers formally announced what was merely a formality this afternoon, when they picked up the option for next year on second-year forward Al Thornton's contract. That was pretty much a given considering Thornton was on the All-Rookie team last year and has the makings of a future All-Star...

Also, coach Mike Dunleavy intimated that a decision on final roster cuts would be made by Thursday or Friday of this week...

Just got word that Baron Davis is expected to resume all basketball related activities in one week. Davis visited UCLA hand specialist Dr. Roy Meals on Monday and was diagnosed with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his left ring finger. He will not require surgery. The finger will be splinted and is expected to heal on its own.

There was a mild breakout of panic when a couple of reports hit the internet last night, saying that Baron Davis could miss 4-6 weeks if his finger injury requires surgery.

I posted a blog about the situation last night, after talking to several players, coaches, and Baron's agent about the situation and at that point, the general consensus was that it a minor injury and Davis would probably miss this week's exhibition games, but would be ready to roll for the start of the season.

So what's the real story?

Well, the 4-to-6 week estimate is a worst-case scenario. Davis is seeing Dr. Roy Meals at UCLA this afternoon and we're expecting to hear the results later on today. But most of the people we spoke with today, including coach and general manager Mike Dunleavy, felt the more likely scenario would be a three-week recovery period. That's three weeks from the actual injury, which was last Friday, October 17.

``I'm not a doctor, but that's not my impression of the case,'' Dunleavy said, when asked if he expected Davis to miss an extended period of time. ``I don't want to influence a doctor, but off of what I've heard, it was very minor and he needed to see a specialist.

``It's more than likely be anywhere from under three weeks, splinted or whatever, and depending on pain tolerance, maybe sooner.''

In other words, officially cross Davis out of this week's exhibition games, but a return the first week of the season is still a possibility.

As for that worst-case scenario, Dunleavy didn't really want to consider it, but if it did come to that, here's what he'd do.

``We'd have to start thinking about a third guard in case someone got in foul trouble or injured,'' Dunleavy said. ``We'd probably try Eric (Gordon) there some as well.''

What are the chances that Baron Davis, Marcus Camby and Tim Thomas all miss the rest of the exhibiton season? Pretty high actually. Camby (bruised right heel) admitted Sunday that his new goal is to be ready to go in the season opener against the Lakers on October 29. Davis (sprained finger) was rather wishy-washy when I asked if he'd be back next week: ``Something like that ... we'll have to play it by ear.''

Of the three, Thomas (groin) seems the closest to returning, but a groin injury is the kind of thing you make extra sure of before you come back, because it's so easy to re-injure.

``Me and BD have been out of the lineup, Tim has been out of the lineup. We never really played a second of the whole preseason together. But after the last game of the preseason, we got like four or five days of practice so hopefully we can get a lot accomplished and be ready to roll,'' Camby said Sunday evening after the Clippers exhibition win over FC Barcelona.

The question then becomes whether any of those three players will miss more than the exhibition season. I spoke with several players in the locker room and no one seemed all that concerned about Davis' injury except Camby, who cryptically mentioned, ``I'm pretty sure I'll be back before BD.''

Davis' X-rays were negative, but an MRI on Friday was inconclusive so he's still got to get an opinion from the hand specialist he'll see Monday, so no one knows for sure yet. Second-year forward Al Thornton seemed more optimistic.

``I think Baron's going to be ready for that first game,'' Thornton said. ``He's gotta be ready: It's the Lake show, Staples Center, national TV, I think he's just playin' with y'all.

``It's the left hand so he'll be OK. It's just his guiding hand.''

So which teammate is more in the know? Hard to say, but Camby's locker is right next to Davis.'

Just got done talking to coach Mike Dunleavy and he mentioned that some of the Clippers veterans --Cuttino Mobley, Chris Kaman, Ricky Davis -- would play a few less minutes today. Specifically he mentioned that Skinner would start in place of Kaman.

Dunleavy said that Tim Thomas (groin) is getting close to returning to the court, but that Marcus Camby (heel) didn't respond as well to yesterday's practice and might miss a little more time.

Dunleavy was optimistic that all three injured players (Baron Davis, Thomas and Camby) would be ready to go for the season opener on October 29, though we'll know more about the extent of Baron Davis' finger injury on Monday.

Ricky Davis doing some of the ball-handling. In our pregame chat with coach Mike Dunleavy, he mentioned that with Baron Davis out, he might experiment with Ricky Davis playing point guard.

Paul Davis just made a nice catch and finish off of a slick pass from Cuttino Mobley early on here in the Clippers exhibition game against the Toronto Raptors. Why is this surprising?

Well, before the game we were chatting with Davis about how painful his sprained right pinkie finger is. It's a second degree sprain, which by definition is a partial ligament tear. Davis said it's extremely painful, despite his heavy tape job. But the only way for it to heal is with rest, and Davis doesn't want to go back down that road again.

``I'm through with all that,'' Davis said, gesturing to his surgically repaired right knee. ``I'm just going to play through it.''

Baron Davis came to tonight's exhibition home opener dressed in street clothes, with his sprained right index finger heavily taped. He will not play in either of this weekend's exhibition games.

I asked how it felt compared to other sprains he's had and Baron said fairly tersely, ``like a sprain.''

``It's unfortunate, with the timing of everybody getting hurt not being able to play,'' Davis said. ``I think situations like this forces other guys to step up and we can see what we can get from other guys.''

Davis is scheduled to see a hand specialist on Monday and said he hopes to get back sometime next week. He injured the finger by falling awkwardly on his hand during practice on Friday.

Baron Davis won't play in either exhibition game Saturday or Sunday due to a sprained left ring finger suffered in practice. X-rays taken Friday were negative, an MRI was inconclusive. He will be further evaluated on Monday.

Davis missed the Clippers two exhibitions earlier in the week with the flu.

The Clippers waived forward Curtis Sumpter today, trimming their roster down to 15. Former UCLA star Jelani McCoy is the only free agent remaining in camp. McCoy has gotten an extended look --and performed well -- because of injuries to Marcus Camby and Tim Thomas.

Ah, so that's why the Clippers were so high on rookie guard Eric Gordon.

After being hobbled by an ankle injury during the first two weeks of training camp, the rookie from Indiana whom the Clippers took with the seventh-overall pick in the NBA draft poured in 33 points including six 3-pointers in the Clippers comeback victory over the Sacramento Kings Wednesday night.

``I was just in a rhythm most of the game,'' Gordon said. ``I had a lot of opportunities to score and I was hitting my shots. We didn't have too many of our players (only 11 of the 16 players on the roster played) so somebody had to step up and take charge.''

Gordon did that and then some, hitting 11 of the 24 shots he took in 31 minutes off the bench. He also sunk the go-ahead free throws with 1:42 to play as the Clippers rallied from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit.

The win pushed the Clippers preseason record to a perfect 3-0, which made the long trip home from Stockton and early morning wake-up call for practice and then a golf event with season-ticket holders down at the Trump National Golf Club in Palos Verdes quite a bit more pleasant.

``I think it just shows what we as a team are capable of doing,'' Gordon said.

Fellow rookie guard Mike Taylor had another standout game, with 21 points and nine assists. With Baron Davis home with the flu, Taylor, Gordon and Jason Hart played the bulk of the minutes at point guard.

It's not the role the Clippers envision for Gordon, but one they're happy he can play if the situation calls for it.

``I like to play the point,'' said Gordon, who played point guard in high school. ``I like to play at a faster tempo. And with my size, there aren't a lot of point guards who are as big as I am.''

Also: Davis (flu), forward Tim Thomas (groin) and center Marcus Camby (heel) all sat out the two-game trip to Oklahoma City and Sacramento. Thomas said he's feeling better, but didn't want to rush back and do more damage to the injury.

``That's not what's important right now,'' Thomas said of the exhibition games. ``Right now the most important thing is gelling with all the new players on this team because I think we can be very good.''

Davis also attended the golf event. He wore a scarf around his neck to try and stay warm as temperatures at the golf course got chilly by evening, but said he was feeling better.

The Clippers next play the Toronto Raptors Saturday afternoon at 4:30 pm. as part of a round-robin shootout with the Lakers and the Spanish club FC Barcelona.

In case you're wondering, Al Thornton is not playing in tonight's exhibition because of a sore right wrist, suffered in last night's game in Oklahoma City

Just got word that Baron Davis will miss tonight's exhibition game in Stockton against the Sacramento Kings. He's still feeling the effects of the flu.

Marcus Camby (heel) and Tim Thomas (groin) are also out. DeAndre Jordan didn't play in last night's win in Oklahoma City, but I'm told he was dressed and available if called upon.

Don't be surprised if players who played extended minutes last night take a backseat tonight as coach Mike Dunleavy said earlier in the week that he'd probably limit playing time for his veterans because of the back-to-back situation.

One is a cautionary tale, the other a success story. At least in the way early drafts of their young careers have been written. But as is generally the case with early drafts, there is plenty of room for revision. And in the first few weeks of training camp with the Clippers, second-round draft picks Mike Taylor and DeAndre Jordan have done some major editing.

Taylor, who played in the D-League last season after being kicked off the Iowa State team after one season and an assortment of run-ins with the law, was the surprise star of the Clippers exhibition opener against the Lakers last week with 20 points on 9-for-12 shooting and seems to be making a push for extended minutes in the Clippers backcourt.

Jordan, a projected lottery pick out of high school who dropped all the way into the second round after a tepid freshman season at Texas A&M, has been the subject of constant praise from head coach Mike Dunleavy for his athletic style of play, aggressive rebounding and better-than-expected scoring touch around the basket.

With the Clippers short on bodies for tonight's exhibition game in Oklahoma City against the Thunder, following another bite of the flu bug (Baron Davis), some knicked fingers (Paul Davis) and feet (Marcus Camby, Eric Gordon) and strained muscles (Tim Thomas), Taylor and Jordan will likely have an extended opportunity to play.

``The young guys are really doing a good job for us,'' Dunleavy said. ``(DeAndre Jordan) has done a great job of blocking shots, defending people, rebounding. At this point, to be honest with you, he's a little further along than I expected. ... Mike Taylor has been just terrific. Defending and running his team. He's scored points and run his team very well. We went after him, we went out of our way to go get him because we felt like he could play point.''

The Clippers discovered Taylor in a workout where he was matched on a point guard they were considering taking with the No. 7 overall pick. Taylor played so well, the Clippers considered taking him with the No. 35 overall pick. But when Jordan fell out of the first round, they couldn't resist taking a chance on a player who had been rated at the same level as UCLA center/forward Kevin Love coming out of high school.

The Clippers liked both players so much, they signed them to guaranteed contracts over the summer, which is rare for second-round draft choices.

``I was shocked (Jordan) was there at 35, he was definitely projected higher and I think he should've gone higher,'' Dunleavy said. ``I was planning to take (Mike Taylor) at 35. We just really liked him. The question was: He's not a real point guard yet, and could he play there? I think the answer is yes. But then when DeAndre was there, and we took him at 35, we said, `We gotta find out how to get another pick.' Finally we got the 55 pick (from Portland) and took Taylor.''

With so many veterans nursing injuries, and another game in Stockton against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night, Dunleavy said the rookies would likely play extended minutes tonight.

Davis did not travel to Oklahoma City with the team on Monday after coming down with the flu. Thomas and Camby also will not play. Davis and Gordon are listed as probable.

Looks like there will be a lot of minutes to go around for the young guys tommorrow night when the Clippers play in Oklahoma. Baron Davis came down with what the team is calling flu-like symptoms on Monday and will not make the trip to Oklahoma City. He could return for the team's game against the Kings Wednesday night in Stockton if he's feeling better. Meanwhile, Camby (heel) and Thomas (groin) have been ruled out, while Eric Gordon (ankle) and Paul Davis (pinky) are probable.

Just a quick rundown on the Clippers injury situation:

Marcus Camby, Paul Davis and Tim Thomas did not practice Saturday and are officially day-to-day wit an assortment of knicks and bruises. Camby has a right heel bruise, Daivs a sprained right pinky and Thomas has a strained left groin.

On the positive side, Eric Gordon is has returned to full contact practice after healing up from a high ankle sprain on the first day of camp.

I've had a chance to speak with a lot more people this afternoon about Elgin Baylor no longer being with the Clippers and updated the brief story I filed earlier.

One thing I wanted to clarify/note is that Baylor was the team's Vice President of Basketball Operations. He was frequently quoted as its general manager, but officially, that role was vacant and never part of his title.

Dunleavy then, becomes the team's general manager. But does not replace Baylor as general manager, since Baylor never was officially the ``general manager.''

It's just a matter of semantics, but I wanted to clarify.

Also, one quick note. Dunleavy's contract will not change now that he's the GM. He has three years (including this one) at $5.5 million per season remaining on his contract.

By Ramona Shelburne
Staff Writer

Elgin Baylor has been the steward of the Los Angeles Clippers for the past 22 years. Now it's Mike Dunleavy's turn.

After years of seeing his power slowly erode within the organization, Baylor has left the team and his position as Vice President of Basketball Operations under what appear to be contentious circumstances.

Head coach Mike Dunleavy will now also serve as the team's general manager. Neil Olshey, the team's director of player personnel, is the new assistant general manager.

``There's a dispute and I've been advised by my attorney's not to discuss it,'' Baylor said Tuesday afternoon in a telephone interview.

Messages left Tuesday afternoon for Baylor's two attorneys were not returned.

The situation reached a breaking point towards the end of summer, but Dunleavy said that the club didn't officially approach him about becoming general manager until the last couple of days.

``Basically the team just came to me recently and said that Elgin was (leaving) and they wanted me to take on responsibilities as general manager,'' Dunleavy said.

The 74-year old Baylor was the NBA's Executive of the Year as recently as 2006, but it's widely known that his power has eroded in recent years.

A league source said that the team had hoped Baylor would stay on as a consultant, and that that door is still open.

Dunleavy added that his relationship with Baylor had been strong, and he'd ``enjoyed working with Elgin. He's a great guy and a great man.''

Baylor, who played 14 seasons with the Lakers, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1976 and chosen as one of the NBA's "50 Greatest Players of All Time" during the league's 50th Anniversary celebration in 1997. He has been with the Clippers since 1986.

The Clippers underwent one of the wildest makeovers in NBA history this offseason. Franchise cornerstones Elton Brand and Corey Maggette left contentiously via free agency, Baron Davis and Marcus Camby arrived, joining just five players who were on the roster the previous season.

During Brand's introductory press conference in Philadelphia, his agent, David Falk, made an offhand comment about his negotiations with the Clippers that revealed just how much Baylor's power had eroded.

Falk noted that ``Coach Dunleavy, who acts as the quasi general manager in LA'' had gone ``to the mat on Elton's behalf,'' essentially placing Baylor on the outside of the negotiations.

Double duty is nothing new for Dunleavy, who previously served as head coach and general manager with Milwaukee from 1992-96.

``We're going to continue to keep moving forward,'' Dunleavy said. said. ``I don't know that it's a big change at all. A lot of the time, we all huddle up and make our decisions. So we're pretty much going on the way we've been doing it. ''

Part of the understanding, when Dunleavy signed a four-year, $22-million extension in December of 2006, is that he would have input in personnel moves. That role gradually evolved into something more.

The situation seemed workable until recently and there appears to be no indication of an event that caused a falling out. Dunleavy even said that Baylor's departure caught him off-guard.

``I don't really know what happened,'' Dunleavy said. ``He (Baylor) never said anything to me. .... I have a tremendous amount of respect for Elgin. I think he's one of the Top 5 greatest players of all time. Whenever people talk about players who transcend eras, Elgin is that guy. He was way ahead of his time ... and he was also one of the nicest guys you'll ever want to meet.''

Lakers forward Lamar Odom, who played for the Clippers from 1999-2003, seconded that opinion.

``He's a good man,'' Odom said before the Lakers preseason opener against the Utah Jazz. ``He didn't deserve that."

Just got confirmation that Mike Dunleavy will be taking over as general manager of the Clippers, replacing Elgin Baylor. Dunleavy will remain as the team's head coach.

``Basically, the team came to me recently, just in the last couple of days and said that Elgin was retiring and they wanted me to take on the responsibilities as general manager,'' Dunleavy said Tuesday afternoon.

The 74-year old Baylor's role has diminished in recent years, with Dunleavy's role growing larger.

Double duty is not a new thing for Dunleavy, who previously served as a general manager and head of the Milwaukee Bucks from 1992-96.

Baylor joined the Clippers in 1986 as Vice President of Basketball Operations a Hall of Fame careerwith the Los Angeles Lakers and a brief coaching stint with the New Orleans Jazz.

He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1976, chosen as one of the NBA's "50 Greatest Players of All Time" during the league's 50th Anniversary celebration in 1997, and was named the 2005-06 NBA Executive of the Year.

Rookie guard Eric Gordon seems to be making a quick comeback from his high-ankle sprain. Gordon, who sprained his ankle last Tuesday and was forecast to miss 1-2 weeks, was able to run and participate in a few drills at today's practice. He was not able to make lateral cuts or be involved in contact drills.

Tim Thomas (flu) practiced today after missing Monday's practice.

Chris Kaman said his sore ankles feel great, but he's been dealing with a plantar fasciitis flare up.

One of the pleasant surprises in the early-going of Clippers camp is rookie guard Mike Taylor, a late second-round pick the Clippers traded up with Portland to get because he'd turned in an impressive workout for them.

Coach Mike Dunleavy said Tuesday that Taylor has been ``probably the most surprising guy in camp'' thus far, and looks to be in line for playing time this year in the Clippers backcourt.

Taylor is being converted from a shooting guard to a point guard, a process that began last year when he played in the D-League, but still has a few hurdles to clear.

So far though, Dunleavy loves what he sees from the young, wiry, super-quick 6-foot-2 guard.

``He's really done a nice job of defending, running his team, scoring points,'' Dunleavy said. ``I would bet you he was the leading scorer in practice today. He's a rhythm guy and when he gets it going, he gets it going.''

Taylor still needs to improve on the number of turnovers he commits and game-management, Dunleavy said.

If he continues to develop, Dunleavy said Taylor could work his way into the rotation as a back-up point guard behind Baron Davis and Jason Hart.

Dunleavy has also said that first-round draft pick Eric Gordon can play point guard if necessary.

Marcus Camby returned to practice today after missing most of last week with the flu. Camby was able to take part in most of Monday morning's practice, though coach Mike Dunleavy said he was going to ease Camby back into things slowly.

Here's a little more detail on the Camby situation:

The Clippers came to the end of their first week of practice Friday, for the most part feeling pretty good about themselves, their gleaming new practice facility, and their new leading man, Baron Davis.

The first few strokes of definition were painted this week. Yes, the team will be more uptempo this year with Davis pushing the ball up the court. Yes, it intends to shoot more from the outside now that it has four players capable of making more than 40 percent of their shots from behind the 3-point arc.

But one pretty large piece of the puzzle has remained unsolved, or at the very least, unworked, as Marcus Camby, their prized front-court acquisition, has been on the shelf virtually all week with the flu.

Camby attended media day on Monday, practiced Tuesday morning, then came down with the flu and hasn't been around much since.

Davis and coach Mike Dunleavy have been text-messaging him with updates, Dunleavy even sent a DVD of a recent practice over to Camby's house so that he could keep up with what's been going on.

Dunleavy said that Camby wrote him back Friday morning, saying that he'd watched the DVD, but that he didn't expect Camby to attend today's scrimmage at Camp Pendleton and he might not even practice again until Sunday or Monday.

How much will this hurt the team-bonding? And, considering Camby expressed quite a bit of lingering bitterness toward the Denver Nuggets during interviews on Monday, could there be more than just a flu bug going around?

``I don't think it's going to be an issue,'' Dunleavy said. ``The adjustment part of it, bonding with the team and all that ... with the way he plays, and because of his (basketball) IQ, I don't think it's going to be an issue.''

As for whether Camby might be having trouble letting go of some of the pain from the way he was traded --essentially for nothing -- over the summer, Dunleavy said he understood if that part took time.

``That part is hard for me to say,'' Dunleavy said. ``I guess that's his personal deal. Someone was saying that he was still getting text messages from his guys back in Denver saying they missed him, they were looking at his locker ... but that's nostalgia.

``I'm not worried about it. Last week when I was talking with him, he said his little girl loves her new school, that they love Southern California, they got a nice house and have friends and family that live here.''

Davis said he preferred not to comment on the situation.

A call to Camby's agent Friday wasn't returned.

Here's what Mike Dunleavy had to say about the Clippers two second-round draft picks, DeAndre Jordan and Mike Taylor. From the sound of things, both guys are going to be pushing hard for some PT this year.

On DeAndre Jordan:
``He's done a great job of blocking shots, defending people, rebounding. At this point, to be honest with you, he's a little further along than I expected. You hope, but you just never know. But he's been very good.''

On Mike Taylor --

``Mike Taylor has been just terrific. Defending and running his team. He's scored points and run his team very well. We went after him, we went out of our way to go get him because we felt like he could play point.''

Shaun Livingston is a member of the Miami Heat. Here's the link:

In case you're wondering, Livingston has the same agent as Dwyane Wade. And yes, that's probably important.

Marcus Camby missed his third day of training camp this morning with the flu. Coach Dunleavy said he's been keeping in touch with Camby via text message, and that he sent Marcus a DVD of Thursday's practice to watch. Baron Davis said he's been texting Marcus every day. But for the most part, Camby hasn't been by the Clippers new tr