Fine Solution for Olowokandi

The Clippers on Friday rescinded center Michael Olowokandi’s $50,000 fine for speaking out last week about his lack of a contract for next season and the effect he believed it was having on the team’s play. Olowokandi and General Manager Elgin Baylor spoke for about an hour after the morning shoot-around at Staples Center.

Olowokandi said he apologized to Baylor for making the comments after the Clippers’ loss April 3 against the Utah Jazz, which effectively knocked the team from playoff contention. He said he was simply venting his frustration after a game in which he missed 13 of 15 shots and scored only seven points.

Baylor refused to comment, but a team spokesman said, “The fine has been rescinded based on what Elgin heard from Michael this morning.”

Olowokandi told reporters before the Clippers’ game against the Sacramento Kings that he learned a few things about the way teams can deal with their free agents. Olowokandi is eligible to become a restricted free agent this summer, with the Clippers holding the right to match any outside offers.

“[Baylor] reiterated his commitment to me,” Olowokandi said. “We talked and he asked me my plans. I told him I have never expressed any desire to be anywhere else. I guess he wanted to hear it from me for the record.”

What he said after the Utah game was, in part:

“We didn’t play well together. Whenever you have a group of guys that are very uncertain of their futures on the team that will always happen. Whenever you have that situation, you will never have a basketball team. Not this year, not next year, not 10 years from now. We had a situation tonight where everyone was just going on their own. It wasn’t good.

“Things are very uncertain with the future of this team. It’s starting to affect the way we play the game.”

What Olowokandi said Friday was, in part:

“To blame it on a player not knowing where he’ll be or if a team hasn’t kept its players in the past isn’t right. When you’re an athlete you definitely should always compete for pride.

“I didn’t mean to create this big stir-up. I can go on record as apologizing for not being knowledgeable. I should have dealt with the situation better. I should have approached it differently.”

Olowokandi also said he should have sought out Baylor sooner. The two often talk, according to Olowokandi, but Friday’s conversation was the first time they spoke in detail about the 7-footer’s future.

Teams are not allowed to negotiate with free agents until July 1, with the signing period opening July 16. Olowokandi said he simply did not know the rules until Baylor explained them to him Friday.

“[Baylor] told me there are only two players on our team, Sean Rooks and Eric Piatkowski, who have played 10 years or more in the league and whose contracts he could talk about,” Olowokandi said. “My expiration date ended in October. For some reason, I always felt [there could be on-going negotiations].”

When Olowokandi would ask his agent, Bill Duffy, if he had heard anything about a new contract, Duffy would say he had not. Olowokandi said he took that to mean that, “I would be out of here” at the end of the season.

In fact, Baylor and Duffy can’t negotiate a new deal for Olowokandi until July 1.

This could be Olowokandi’s first experience as a free agent. He was selected No. 1 overall in the 1998 NBA draft despite having played for only parts of three seasons at the University of the Pacific. He took up the game as a 17-year-old living in England.