As you might have noticed lately, we’re no longer feeding this Clippers blog.

That’s because we have shifted a bunch of our resources within the sports department of The Orange County Register.

Longtime Clippers beat writer Art Thompson III is now part of our bigger, badder Lakers coverage team — but he’s still among the leading authorities on the Clippers.

For Art’s views on the Lakers, Clippers and the NBA as a whole, click here.

For more NBA coverage, go to ocregister.com/sports.

Neil Olshey, the Clippers’ director of player personnel, confirmed Thursday that the Clippers’ cornerstones - Elton Brand and Corey Maggette both have an early-termination of their respective contracts on June 30.

Several other prominent NBA players, including Washington’s Gilbert Arenas, had earlier opt-out deadlines so that their respective teams could gauge what their draft needs might be, contingent on those players’ decisions.

Meanwhile, Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy reiterated that he expected both Brand and Maggette to be wearing Clipper uniforms at the start of the 2008-2009 season.

“I don’t see why not,” Dunleavy said, Thursday.

Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy suggested Thursday that the team is exploring ways to move up in next week’s NBA draft from its slotted position of seventh in the first round.

Up would be the only movement that Dunleavy said he would consider.

“It wouldn’t make much sense right now for us to move down,” he said.

At the seventh slot, the Clippers probably would still be able to get a player that they like, such as Indiana’s Eric Gordon, whom the team worked out three days ago.

However, the Clippers worked out USC’s O.J. Mayo, in a clandestine session held Wednesday. Mayo is not expected to fall below fourth, where the guard-needy Seattle SuperSonics pick, and surely would snatch Mayo if Minnesota did not pick him. Read the rest of this entry »

The Clippers’ basketball staff was back in the gym Thursday morning to evaluate draft prospects.

However, the six players that worked through a myriad of defensive drills, shooting drills and three-on-three play won’t be considered for the team’s lottery pick at seventh overall in next week’s NBA draft.

The group, which included Cal State Fullerton guard Frank Robinson, was at best, regarded as second-round draft prospects. Robinson began his college career at East Carolina, before transferring to Fullerton for his final three years.

“He shoots the ball well and he defends,” Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said, in an abbreviated assessment of Robinson’s skills.

Robinson, who worked out for the Clipper earlier this month at the Home Depot Center in Carson, said that if he were drafted at all, it would be a happy surprise.

“I would say my chances right now are very slim,” Robinson said. ” I didn’t play to my potential until this year, when I came out of my shell. But I feel that through all the workouts that I’ve had, I’ve made a big jump.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Under a cloak of secrecy Thursday, the Clippers worked out guard O.J. Mayo, at an undisclosed Southern California private facility.

Previous workouts for prospective draft picks by the Clippers have been conducted at the team’s interim practice home, Spectrum South in El Segundo. However, Mayo’s audition was conducted somewhere else.

Apparently, the decision on where to have the workout was made by Mayo’s new agent, Leon Rose, who was selected after Mayo parted ways with his former agent, Calvin Andrews.

Rose’s major client is All-Star forward LeBron James.

Depending on the assortment of mock drafts, Mayo is projected to go somewhere between the third and sixth picks.

Read the rest of this entry »

Clippers athletic trainer Jasen Powell confirmed Monday that guard Shaun Livingston did have a one-on-one contact session last Friday but that Livingston’s activities remain heavily monitored.

“He’s doing limited contact work, in conjunction with strength work,” Powell said.

That regiment includes contact work twice a week and heavy strength work on the alternating days.

“This was a good first step for him,” Powell said.

But Livingston will not be playing in any pickup games or even in any three-on-three half-court scrimmages anytime soon.

The Clippers will conduct a mini-camp next month, in preparation for participating in the Las Vegas Summer League. Powell said it would be far-fetched to believe that Livingston would be able to do anything more strenuous than five-on-zero fast-break drills.

“Five-on-five is far from being in the picture, because we’re being very conservative,” Powell said.

Nevertheless, Powell was quite optimistic about Livingston’s prospects of playing in the 2008-2009 season.

It has been nearly 16 months since Livingston last played basketball. He suffered what was feared to be a career-ending left knee injury, Feb. 26, 2007, in which he ruptured all of the major knee ligaments, as well as a dislocated knee cap and damage to his lateral meniscus. He missed the entire 2007-2008 season.

Livingston has not suffered any major setbacks, since his surgery was performed 15 months ago, although he did have a case of tendinitis, that flared up in January, and was forced to cut back on his basketball-related activities.

Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy is not showing any visible concern that his two top players, forward Elton Brand and swingman Corey Maggette, can opt out of the final year of their respective contracts this month.

Although Maggette continues to work out at least five days a week at the Clippers’ interim Spectrum South practice site, he has not budged off his declaration made last fall that he intended to opt out.

Brand, however, has not publically stated what his intentions are but said recently that a decision would be made fairly soon. He, too, has been working out regularly at Spectrum South.

As for Dunleavy, he believes that although Maggette certainly will opt out, that the Clippers would be able to sign him to a new multi-year deal. Maggette is due to be paid $7 million in 2008-2009.

Dunleavy said Monday that he does not know whether Brand will opt out but the Clippers’ coach is confident that Brand also will be in a Clippers’ uniform next season. Brand is due to make $16,440,000 in 2008-2009.

Dunleavy believes that because a number of teams have very little, if any cap space to work with, that the option for potential free agents are limited this summer. Next year, however, potentially could be a much more lucrative free-agent market.

“There’s not a lot of teams with money out there and guys are going to find that out,” Dunleavy said. “There are going to be a lot of guys not happy with what they’re going to be offered.”

The Clippers began another week of pre-draft workouts Monday by bringing in guard Eric Gordon, who declared for early entry into the NBA draft, after spending only one year at Indiana.

Although the workout was closed to the public, the general consensus afterward among Clipper basketball staff personnel was that Gordon was very impressive in displaying his shooting ability.

“He’s got pro 3-point range,” Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said.

The Clippers were the third and final team that Gordon planned to audition for. He earlier worked out for the Seattle SuperSonics, who have the fourth overall pick, and the New York Knicks, who are slotted sixth.

HoopsHype.com has the 6-foot-4 Gordon projected to be selected with the seventh-overall pick, which happens to be when the Clippers will make their first-round pick.

Gordon said he believed that he is capable of breaking into the rotation, right away, if the Clippers did draft him.

Although he averaged 20.9 points, while starting all 32 games, Gordon’s production tapered off late in the season. However, he attributed that Monday to a fractured left wrist, which he said he purposely kept as quiet about, as much as possible.

“I put it in a cast and it’s completely healed,” Gordon said.

The Clippers’ most pressing need would seem to be at point guard. They finished th season with journeymen Brevin Knight and Dan Dickau sharing the job. Smush Parker also finished the season on the roster.

Dickau and Parker almost certainly won’t be back next season and there remains a question mark surrounding Shaun Livingston, who missed the entire 2007-2008 season, while recovering from a left knee injury suffered the previous season.

Livingston has been cleared for restricted one-on-one contact work but as far as playing five-on-five, that won’t be happening any time soon.

Livingston will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 because the Clippers are not expected to tender him a qualifying offer of at least $5.8 million. The Clippers and Livingston’s agent, Henry Thomas, are expected to discuss a compromised deal but so far have not met.

Neil Olshey, the Clippers’ director of player personnel, said the team likely would conduct at least three more pre-draft workouts. Not on that list presently is UCLA’s Kevin Love, whom HoopsHype.com has projected to be picked fifth, by the Memphis Grizzlies.

“We’d like to get him in,” Dunleavy said.

There have been loud whispers that the Clippers will make a run at Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, who can opt out of his contract this summer.

Also, there has been talk that the Clippers have shown interest in Milwaukee Bucks swingman Michael Redd.

Neither acquisition would be easy to come by because Redd has two years remaining on his contract, at a guaranteed $33 million, plus a player’s option in 2110-2111 for $18.3 million.

As for Arenas, if he does not opt out, he is due to be paid $12,800,00 for the 2008-2009 season.

So, how would the Clippers land either one of the two? Only if Clippers forward Elton Brand opts out of his contract this summer and decides to sign with another team.

Brand would be leaving $16,440,000 on the table but likely could land at least a four-year contract in the $44-48 million range.

Brand has been quite coy on his situation and his agent, David Falk, did not have anything to say when asked about the situation last week in Boston.

However, the rumors are Brand has grown tired of losing and is not convinced that the Clippers can rebuild into a playoff-contending team, anytime soon.

Henry Thomas, the agent for Clippers’ guard Shaun Livingston, said Saturday that he is open for discussion with whatever contract numbers the team wants to negotiate and is not stuck on the $5.8 million offer the Clippers must tender to Livingston by June 30, to retain his rights.

“I’m open to whatever they come with,” Thomas said. “I don’t have any expectations.”

The Clippers have indicated strongly that they want to keep Livingston, who has been snakebitten by injuries during his four NBA seasons. However, they are reluctant to extend him the tender offer.

Livingston missed the entire 2007-2008 season, while recovering from a catastrophic left knee injury that he suffered Feb. 26, 2007, in a game against the Charlotte Bobcats.

He has been on an intensive rehabilitation program for the past 15 months and Livingston said several days ago that he is very close to being cleared for basketball-related contact.

Livingston becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1, if the Clippers do not extend him the $5.8 million offer.

The Chicago-based Thomas reiterated that the two sides have not come to the discussion table as of yet but that he expects that to happen fairly soon.

“We don’t have a date set to talk,” Thomas said. “But I’m sure that we’ll be speaking before the end of the month.”