Clippers Flow Toward Rivers : Pro basketball: Three-team deal would cost them Garland and the No. 9 pick.

Is there a Doc in the house?

Late Tuesday night, the Clippers were wondering the same thing, their pursuit of a long-coveted point guard, Atlanta’s Glenn (Doc) Rivers, hinging on salary cap problems in other time zones.

Sending the ninth pick in today’s NBA draft and guard Winston Garland to the Hawks for Rivers would be only the first leg of a three-way deal on the table. Atlanta, following through on its plan to tear apart a team that for years has failed to meet expectations, would then send Garland and the 15th selection to the Denver Nuggets for center Blair Rasmussen, who will replace outgoing Moses Malone, and possibly a late choice.

Officials from teams involved and NBA sources confirmed the impending deal.

The Clippers, who waived backup center Ken Bannister last week to clear additional room under the cap, have no problem handling Rivers’ salary. The hitch comes on the Atlanta-Denver portion.

“It’s not a question of what we’ve been offering,” said Clipper General Manager Elgin Baylor, who arrived at the Sports Arena Tuesday at 6 a.m. and didn’t leave his office until the evening. “We have made some very attractive offers. It’s just a question of the cap and how teams are going to replace a player and if they want to move a player.”

The salary cap could become an issue for the Clippers if they move forward with the second of two possibilities that remained from an original list of five: Brian Shaw, who made about $300,000 more than Rivers last season, from Boston. The Celtics are believed to have wanted the No. 9 and Loy Vaught, a deal the Clippers considered too steep.

Shaw was a late addition to Clipper pursuits. Having made a veteran point guard their top priority since early last season, the Clippers set out after a 31-51 finish with a target list of Derek Harper of Dallas, Pooh Richardson of Minnesota, Jay Humphries of Milwaukee, Isiah Thomas of Detroit and Rivers. That point guards have become the hottest commodity this off-season didn’t help.

The Clippers reportedly dangled Ken Norman, Gary Grant and the pick to the Mavericks and were told no. Richardson, the former UCLA star, would love to return to Los Angeles, but the Timberwolves had little interest in trading him. The Bucks were intrigued by the front-line youth of Norman and Vaught, but they, too, turned away because no replacement for Humphries seemed viable. Thomas was a longshot from the beginning.

Milwaukee had other problems being over the salary cap, the real hang-up to some deals that don’t get done. The Bucks wouldn’t surrender their starting point guard just for the No. 9 pick. And they couldn’t do it for the pick and a worthwhile player.

The Clippers also have the 22nd pick. That selection originally belonged to Phoenix, was sent to Seattle in the Xavier McDaniel trade and then to the Clippers as part of the Olden Polynice-Benoit Benjamin package in February. The intent all along has been to go big with that choice. Stanley Roberts, the second coming of Benjamin in work ethic and diet, is among those being considered. He is a gamble as a player, but low risk because the investment is minimal for a backup and the money involved that late in the draft.

Other possibilities include LeRon Ellis from Mater Dei High in Santa Ana and Syracuse, Mark Randall of Kansas and Victor Alexander of Iowa State.

Clipper Notes

Winston Garland has attracted the interest of more people than the Hawks. Sacramento is mentioning him as a possible stop-gap for a season or two if the Kings are unable to get Kenny Anderson today with the third pick. . . . The Clippers also have two selections in the second round, 37th and 38th. The latter came from Cleveland in the Ron Harper-Danny Ferry deal.

The draft will be shown live at the Sports Arena. Doors open at 3:30 and the first pick is scheduled for 4:30. Parking, admission, popcorn and sodas are free. . . . The Clippers are finalizing plans to add an additional 800 seats on the arena level as part of more than $1 million in improvements for next season. . . . After training the previous seven years at Cal Poly Pomona, the Clippers this fall will switch to the San Diego area. The team will stay in Torrey Pines and practice at the Jewish Community Center in La Jolla.