Clippers Have Never Even Been Runners-Up Before

After fawning over Kobe Bryant for the better part of the last year, dreaming of a scenario in which one of the NBA’s marquee players would ditch a 14-time champion for a perennial doormat, what’s next for the Clippers?

Heckled four years ago by a Sports Illustrated cover labeling them “the worst franchise in pro sports,” butt of the joke in countless Jay Leno monologues, they actually stayed in the Bryant sweepstakes right to the end.

Of course, winding up second to the Lakers won’t do anything to upgrade their roster. But it could improve their image as woebegone losers not interested in winning, perhaps making them more attractive to other players.

They still have the first option on Quentin Richardson.

They still have all the salary cap space they’d cleared out to entice Bryant, somewhere in the neighborhood of $14 million, to pursue other free agents.

They still have a promising young nucleus of players.

And they still have an incoming rookie point guard who, though coming directly from high school, has been compared to a young Magic Johnson.

The limb beneath their feet, however, just snapped in two.

They offered about $106 million over six years, the most allowable, but Bryant took about $136 million over seven years from the Lakers.

“You don’t get a chance very often ... at a player of Kobe’s stature,” General Manager Elgin Baylor said Thursday, a few hours after taking an 11 a.m. call from Bryant informing him that the Clippers, once again, had lost to the Lakers. “We felt that we were very much in the ballgame. We had every reason to believe that our chances were just as good as the Laker chances.”

But as usually happens on the court when the Clippers face the Lakers -- they’re 19-76 since moving from San Diego in 1984 -- the Clippers came up short.

“It’s disappointing,” Baylor said in a conference call, “but we still have to go on. Life goes on, and we’ll still look at a lot of things that we have to do.”

After the Wednesday trade that sent Melvin Ely and Eddie House to the Charlotte Bobcats, clearing out the last bit of cap space to offer Bryant a maximum slot, the Clippers have six players under contract for next season.

Draft picks Shaun Livingston, their point-guard prodigy from Peoria, Ill., and Lionel Chalmers should be signed before training camp.

That leaves four spots to fill, and $14 million to fill them.

About half could go to Richardson, who this week signed a six-year, $42-million offer sheet with the Phoenix Suns. The Clippers have until July 29 to match the offer or lose the rights to the restricted free agent.

“I’ve had conversations with Quentin, his agent, and we will continue to talk,” Baylor said. “We still have [13] days left and there are a lot of other things that we have to tend to and talk about. So, there will still be dialogue with Quentin.”

Richardson, however, said this week that he was ready for a change of scenery and hoped that the Clippers would not match the offer.

The Clippers could match and then trade him.

With Bryant out of the picture and Richardson in limbo, their greatest need is for a shooting guard. They also would like to add a veteran big man.

“From the beginning, there were other options,” Baylor said of the Clippers’ next move. “During the whole time, during the whole process, we’ve been talking to other agents. There are a lot of free agents still out there.”

Three days into the free-agent signing period, the Clippers’ options are more limited than, say, a week ago. They had interest in Brent Barry, but the former Seattle SuperSonic guard signed with the San Antonio Spurs.

“There are some things that are still available,” Baylor said. “There’s a possibility that we could make a trade, not necessarily sign a free agent. There are teams that are still interested in doing business with us. In fact, a lot of teams like our young players, and some of the players that we were looking at are still available.”

Bryant also liked the Clippers’ young players, Baylor said.

“That was a big attraction to Kobe,” Baylor said.

So was Coach Mike Dunleavy. Bryant had made it clear last fall that he would actually consider signing with the Clippers, who spent the last nine months preparing to make a run at him. After Bryant opted out of his contract and became a free agent July 1, they said they would do “whatever it takes” to sign him.

“I think we did every possible thing that we could have possibly done,” Baylor said Thursday. “They felt that way; they liked what we were saying. They liked our team. So, I don’t know what else we possibly could have done.”

In the end, though, Bryant stayed put. Baylor guessed that the decision was made out of loyalty. But Bryant, he said, offered no explanation.

Said Baylor: “I didn’t ask.”

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2004-05 Clippers

*--* Elton Brand Forward Corey Maggette Forward Chris Kaman Center Quentin Richardson* Guard Marko Jaric Guard Chris Wilcox Forward Bobby Simmons Forward Shaun Livingston (rookie) Guard Lionel Chalmers (rookie) Guard

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* Restricted free agent