Another Clipper Faces Reality

MIAMI —  Derek Anderson didn’t think it would be this bad.

When the Clippers got him in a trade with Cleveland last summer, Anderson figured his new team would have some rocky times because of its youth but he also believed the playoffs were not out of the question.

Then the season began.

“We may be young and you may not expect us to go out and challenge for the NBA championship, but you should expect us to compete a lot better than what we’ve been doing,” Anderson said of the Clippers, who have the worst record in the Western Conference at 11-38 and will resume play tonight at Miami.

Anderson’s positive outlook has been beaten down. It’s not only the losing, it’s how the Clippers have been losing.

“My mom said that I’ve changed, that I hardly smile anymore.” Anderson said. “I guess she’s right because out here, it is hard to show it.

“We should never be getting beat by 20 points or have big leads and lose like we do. It’s tough to know we’re going to play only for a certain time [each game].”

At first, Anderson had high hopes. He knew about the Clippers’ history of losing but didn’t know much about the franchise itself.

“I was up for the challenge,” he said. “I thought I could come in and help change the situation. I really didn’t know anything about the [Clippers]. I didn’t know one thing. . . . I had never even heard of [owner Donald Sterling].”

In fact, Anderson was totally unprepared for the Clippers. After having been selected from Kentucky as the 13th overall pick in the 1997 draft, he played two seasons with the Cavaliers and figured he knew a little about the NBA. But almost immediately, Anderson discovered, the Clippers were not a typical NBA team.

“It hit me during the first couple exhibition games, when I noticed the crowds,” Anderson said. “I played in front of sellout crowds at every level before I got here. In high school, at UK and even when I played with the Cavaliers, there was always plenty of fan support.”

Anderson, however, didn’t dwell on the shortage of Clipper fans. He assumed people would start to show in large numbers at the new Staples Center, once the team began to play regular-season games.

Anderson also saw the talent the Clippers had and assumed there was no way they weren’t going to win.

With power forward Maurice Taylor, versatile rookie Lamar Odom, big man Michael Olowokandi, veteran point guard Eric Murdock and role players Tyrone Nesby, Troy Hudson, Brian Skinner and Eric Piatkowski, Anderson predicted it wouldn’t be long before the Clipper bandwagon was filled.

But instead of starting fast, the Clippers lost game after game. After 15 games, they were 3-12. After 30, they were 7-23, and at last weekend’s All-Star break, 11-38.

“I could understand if I was the only one who could play at this level and we lost that many games, but that’s not the case,” Anderson said. “With us, there are just too many excuses. We should be getting it done, regardless.

“When you add it all up, this season has been like a nightmare.”

Four games before the break, Coach Chris Ford was fired. It appeared at the time that his players had quit on him. Anderson disagreed, although he did say the Clippers had lost their attitude toward winning.

“There was just a bad atmosphere,” he said. “I mean, there always seemed to be a problem between Coach [Ford] and a player, not with me and the coach, but with another player. You see a team tearing apart and it wears on you, regardless of how tough you are mentally.”

Like Taylor, Anderson will be an unrestricted free agent once the season ends. He realizes there are teams watching how he’s dealing with being a Clipper.

Although he will not turn 26 until July and is only in his third pro season, Anderson is regarded as one of the Clippers’ more experienced players.

When Jim Todd replaced Ford, he made it clear he and his staff were counting on Anderson to help the team develop a tougher mind-set.

“Even though he’s a young guy, he’s a team leader,” assistant Rex Kalamian said. “What makes him such a good leader is that he has patience with everybody. He always has a good attitude about things. He comes into each game ready to play. He’s a stabilizer for us.”

Anderson has missed 11 games this season because of injuries but, individually, is having his best season. He is scoring 17.1 points a game, six over his previous best, and set a career-high with 35 in a loss at Dallas on Jan. 27. He’s making 86.5% of his free throws, eighth best in the league.

Putting up good numbers, then leaving for another team as a free agent has been a favorite tactic of many Clippers. But Anderson says that is not his ploy.

His biggest concern, he says, is to help the Clippers become a better team under Todd, who has made a commitment to teaching his young players over the final 33 games of the season.

“It’s very evident we need to be taught,” Anderson said. “You can’t tell me we don’t need that. One game, we may get 28 blocks and then the next game we get one because of the way we rotate. It doesn’t make sense.

“I think we have guys who are capable of learning but I think it is going to be how they grow and accept being taught. It’s maturity.”

If Anderson played on a team like the Minnesota Timberwolves or Denver Nuggets, chances are he could land a long-term contract. But because he’s with the Clippers, it is anyone’s guess what will happen.

The Clippers seem to be interested in keeping him, but with prices for quality shooting guards starting at $7 million a season, he may be too expensive for owner Sterling. Shooting guards are not as hard to find as point guards but there are teams that need a player like Anderson.

“I’m not really worried because if a coach sees me, he understands how I play the game,” Anderson said. “He’ll know that I will play hard and play to win every time I am on the court.”

Would he re-sign with the Clippers if they met his asking price?

“Money really isn’t the issue because I’m getting a check now and I’m going to get one next season,” Anderson said. “It’s up to them and if they are going to keep people.

“I can’t be here if every other year, four or five new guys are on the team. Look at this year’s team. We have Lamar, Eric [Murdock] and myself and we are all playing a lot and we’re all new. . . . Most good teams have a starting lineup and they keep them intact. Three or four players who stay the same.

“Only time will tell what is going to happen.”

CLIPPERS’ FIRST HALF

Record:

11-38

Standing:

Last in Western Conference

Tonight:

at Miami, 4:30

No TV

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ON THE RISE

Guard Derek Anderson is enjoying higher point totals and minutes a game, but not the team’s record or direction. Anderson’s career statistics:

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Year G Min Reb Pts 1997-1998 66 27.9 2.8 11.7 1999 38 25.7 2.9 10.8 1999-2000 38 35.4 4.3 17.1

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