1997–98 Los Angeles Clippers season

1997–98 Los Angeles Clippers season
Head coach	Bill Fitch
Owner(s)	Donald Sterling
Arena	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Arrowhead Pond
Results
Record	17–65 (.207)
Place	Division: 7th (Pacific) Conference: 13th (Western)
Playoff finish	DNQ
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports West 2, KCAL, KDOC
Radio	KXTA, KPLS

The 1997-98 Los Angeles Clippers season was their 28th season in the NBA their 4th in Anaheim.^[1] With Loy Vaught going down early in the season with a back injury, the Clippers struggled posting a 2-13 record in November. Midway through the season, Brent Barry was traded to the Miami Heat for last year's Most Improved Player Isaac Austin. The Clippers finished last place in the Pacific Division with a 17-65 record. Following the season, Bill Fitch was fired as head coach.

Draft Picks

Main article: 1997 NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	14	Maurice Taylor	PF	United States	Michigan

Roster

Los Angeles Clippers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB (YYYY–MM–DD)
6.0 !C	8	USA !	Austin, Isaac	7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	270 lb (122 kg)	Arizona State
6.0 !C	33	USA !	Closs, Keith	7000220980000000000♠7 ft 3 in (2.21 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Central Connecticut State
2.0 !SG	32	USA !	Collins, James	7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	196 lb (89 kg)	Florida State
1.0 !PG	15	USA !	Martin, Darrick	7000180340000000000♠5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	UCLA
3.0 !SF	7	USA !	Murray, Lamond	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	236 lb (107 kg)	California
2.0 !SG	52	USA !	Piatkowski, Eric	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Nebraska
1.0 !PG	24	USA !	Richardson, Pooh (C)	7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	UCLA
2.0 !SG	26	USA !	Robinson, James	7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Alabama
3.0 !SF	54	USA !	Rogers, Rodney	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	260 lb (118 kg)	Wake Forest
2.0 !SG	14	USA !	Smith, Charles	7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	New Mexico
4.5 !PF	23	USA !	Taylor, Maurice	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	260 lb (118 kg)	Michigan
4.5 !PF	35	USA !	Vaught, Loy	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Michigan
6.0 !C	11	Croatia !	Vrankovic, Stojko	7000218440000000000♠7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)	260 lb (118 kg)	Croatia
6.0 !C	55	USA !	Wright, Lorenzen	7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Memphis

Head coach

Bill Fitch (Coe College)

Assistant coach(es)

Jim Brewer (Minnesota)
Barry Hecker (Frostburg State)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Roster • Transactions
Last transaction: 2009-10-04

Roster Notes

Center Keith Closs played for the Lakers during the pre-season and had a strong performance. When he was released, the Clippers quickly signed him to their roster.

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics	61	21	.744	–	35–6	26–15	19–5
x-Los Angeles Lakers	61	21	.744	–	33–8	28–13	16–8
x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	5	30–11	26–15	17–7
x-Portland Trail Blazers	46	36	.561	15	26–15	20–21	14–10
Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	34	21–20	6–35	6–18
Golden State Warriors	19	63	.232	42	12–29	7–34	6–18
Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	44	11–30	6–35	6–18

#	Western Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Utah Jazz	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Seattle SuperSonics	61	21	.744	1
3	x-Los Angeles Lakers	61	21	.744	1
4	x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	6
5	x-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	6
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	46	36	.561	16
7	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	45	37	.549	17
8	x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	21

9	Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	35
10	Dallas Mavericks	20	62	.244	42
11	Vancouver Grizzlies	19	63	.232	43
11	Golden State Warriors	19	63	.232	43
13	Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	45
14	Denver Nuggets	11	71	.134	51

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Austin, Isaac !Isaac Austin
Barry, Brent !Brent Barry
Closs, Keith !Keith Closs
Collins, James !James Collins
Martin, Darrick !Darrick Martin
Murray, Lamond !Lamond Murray
Piatkowski, Eric !Eric Piatkowski
Richardson, Pooh !Pooh Richardson
Robinson, James !James Robinson
Rogers, Rodney !Rodney Rogers
Smith, Charles !Charles Smith
Taylor, Maurice !Maurice Taylor
Vaught, Loy !Loy Vaught
Vrankovic, Stojko !Stojko Vrankovic
Wright, Lorenzen !Lorenzen Wright

Transactions

The Clippers have been involved in the following transactions during the 1997-98 season.

Trades

June 25, 1997	To Los Angeles Clippers Stojko Vrankovic	To Minnesota Timberwolves Stanley Roberts
June 25, 1997	To Los Angeles Clippers Draft rights to James Collins	To Philadelphia 76ers 1998 2nd round draft pick
February 19, 1998	To Los Angeles Clippers Isaac Austin, Charles C. Smith & 1998 1st round draft pick	To Miami Heat Brent Barry

Free Agents

Additions

Player	Signed	Former team
Keith Closs	August 8	Los Angeles Lakers
James Robinson	August 16	Minnesota Timberwolves

Subtractions

Player	Left	New team
Terry Dehere	waived, July 2	Sacramento Kings
Dwayne Schintzius	released, July 2	Boston Celtics
Malik Sealy	renounced, August 8	Detroit Pistons
Bo Outlaw	free agency, September 5	Orlando Magic
Rich Manning	waived, October 28	Oyak Renault (TBL)

References

↑ 1997-98 Los Angeles Clippers