It’s a Big Deal for Clippers

Having already been through Stojko Vrankovic, Keith Closs and Lorenzen Wright this season, the Clippers feel they have finally landed a bona fide, effective center.

At least for two months.

When a team is 11-42 and has trouble convincing anybody to stick around, it takes its victories where it can get them.

As expected, the Clippers obtained 6-foot-10, 270-pound center Isaac Austin from the Miami Heat just before Thursday’s trading deadline, along with rookie guard Charles Smith and Miami’s first-round pick in the upcoming draft for guard Brent Barry.

Although both sides have agreed on the trade, the players involved must still pass physicals, which will be given today.

There’s no guarantee that the Clippers will be able to keep Austin, a free agent after the season.

But they are still better off than they would have been with Barry, 26. They knew they couldn’t keep him. The third-year guard, also a free agent after the season, had already informed Clipper management that he wasn’t interested in staying.

Austin, 28, is at least willing to talk about it.

Of course, he might change his tune once he actually suits up for the Clippers.

“They are showing me dedication,” Austin said. “As a man, that’s all you need. I think these two months are a feel-out period for them and me.”

Clipper Coach Bill Fitch plans to start Austin as soon as he is ready. Wright will go back to forward, his natural position.

“It is a matter of how soon he can become comfortable out there,” Fitch said. “He has got to get used to playing with the new guys, but he is an intelligent player.”

Assuming he passes his physical, Barry still won’t be ready for a couple of days because of an ankle sprain, suffered Monday against the Houston Rockets.

In 41 games for the Clippers, 36 as a starter, Barry--a former No. 1 draft pick--was averaging 13.7 points and 3.2 assists.

Austin, now in his fifth NBA season after playing at Arizona State, has been the backup to Alonzo Mourning in Miami. But he showed what he could do as a starter at the beginning of this season when Mourning was sidelined because of a knee injury.

Austin has averaged 12.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in 52 games. But as a starter for the first 22 games of the season, Austin averaged 18.9 points and 9.3 rebounds in 34.2 minutes.

Those numbers are also considerably higher than Austin’s career figures before this season. Playing for the Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami, Austin had averaged 6.1 points and 3.8 rebounds.

“This is a great opportunity for me,” Austin said. “I feel that what I did in Miami while Alonzo was out, I can do here. That time while I was starting helped a lot, especially with my concentration.”

Clipper General Manager Elgin Baylor is impressed.

“He’s a good passer, a good rebounder, he can shoot, he runs the floor and he has good character,” Baylor said. “He has all the qualities you would want. You have to be impressed.”

Added Fitch, “He will bring a breath of fresh air to this club.”

Smith, a 6-4 rookie guard out of New Mexico, has played in only 11 games because of an injury to his right leg. He was averaging 0.9 points in 2.9 minutes.

Baylor has pledged to make every effort to re-sign Austin this summer. Austin is making $384,000. Because of salary-cap limitations, the most the Heat could offer him next season would be in the $2.5 million range. The Clippers will have room under the cap to do much better.

One problem that Baylor may face is the lure of the Jazz. It was Utah who first drafted Austin (a second-round choice, 48th overall, in 1991), it was in Utah where Austin and his wife, Denise, were married, and it is in Utah where Austin’s close friend, Karl Malone, lives and plays.

But if Baylor should fail to re-sign Austin, the Clippers at least have Miami’s draft pick.

Which is more than they would have had if they had hung on to Barry.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The NBA on the Move

Trades during an extremely busy week:

THURSDAY

* CLIPPERS--Acquired center Isaac Austin, guard Charles Smith and a 1998 first-round draft pick from Miami for guard Brent Barry; placed guard James Collins on the injured list because of a lower back strain.

* CHICAGO--Traded forward Jason Caffey to Golden State for forward David Vaughn and second-round draft picks in 1998 and 2000.

* GOLDEN STATE--Acquired forward Jason Caffey from Chicago for forward David Vaughn, a 1998 second-round draft pick and a 2000 second-round draft pick.

* ORLANDO--Rony Seikaly was traded to the Nets in return for forward David Benoit, center Yinka Dare, guard Kevin Edwards and a lottery-protected No. 1 pick in the 1998 draft. The Nets, who also get forward Brian Evans from Orlando, keep the pick if it is in the lottery.

* NEW YORK--The Knicks sent center Herb Williams and forward Ronnie Grandison, who hadn’t played all season, to the Philadelphia 76ers for veteran forward Terry Cummings.

WEDNESDAY

* TORONTO--Traded guard Kenny Anderson, forward Popeye Jones and center Zan Tabak to Boston for guards Chauncey Billups and Dee Brown and forwards John Thomas and Roy Rogers; put guard Chris Garner on the injured list because of tendinitis of his right ankle and guard Alvin Williams on the injured list because of a right knee injury.

* VANCOUVER--Traded guard Anthony Peeler to Minnesota for guard Doug West and forward Otis Thorpe and guard Chris Robinson to Sacramento for guard Bobby Hurley and forward Michael Smith.

TUESDAY

* GOLDEN STATE--Traded forward Joe Smith and guard Brian Shaw to Philadelphia for guard Jim Jackson and forward Clarence Weatherspoon; terminated the contract of forward Dickey Simpkins.

MONDAY

* TORONTO--Announced it has received a 1998 second-round draft pick from Portland as compensation for an injury to guard Alvin Williams, who was involved in Friday’s six-player trade.

FEB. 13

* TORONTO--Traded guard Damon Stoudamire and forwards Walt Williams and Carlos Rogers to Portland for guards Kenny Anderson and Alvin Williams, forward Gary Trent, two first-round draft picks and an undisclosed amount of cash.