They Like Ike, but

Ike May Not Stay

The Clippers’ campaign to make center Isaac Austin feel welcome--and encourage him to sign with the team when his contract runs out at the end of the season--took on a political feel of sorts with the distribution of red-white-and blue buttons emblazoned with “I LIKE IKE.”

Austin, traded to the Clippers from Eastern Conference power Miami, will be a free agent at the end of the season and is expected to shop his talents.

The Clippers’ chances might be better if Austin had not come from a winning team, according to Seattle forward Vin Baker, who knows something about going from a bad team to a good one. Baker was traded from the Milwaukee Bucks to the SuperSonics last September.

“It’s a totally different atmosphere when you play for a winner,” Baker said. “Coming here, to a team that wins, has made a world of difference to me and my whole career.

“I don’t know what [Austin] is going to do, but obviously, he’s going to set himself up financially for him and his family. I can say this: Once you win, you don’t want to go back to losing.”

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Seattle Coach George Karl, whose contract runs out at the end of the season, is regarded as a candidate to be coach and general manager of the Denver Nuggets, who lost to the SuperSonics Sunday. “I don’t think you can do both jobs, but hiring the guy to do [the GM job] for you like [Celtic Coach Rick] Pitino has in Boston, [Heat Coach Pat] Riley has in Miami and (76er Coach Larry) Brown has in Philadelphia, that scenario does interest me.”