CLIPPERS MIGHT NOT GET THE POINT WITH THEIR SELECTION.

Byline: JOE STEVENS

Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO -- The Clippers have a colossal hole on their roster at the point-guard position. Yet there is no guarantee they will go that route with their first-round pick in Thursday's NBA draft.

At least that much can be gathered from figuring out which players are expected to be available with the 14th overall pick. But make no mistake, the Clippers need to address the point-guard position, especially with Shaun Livingston expected to be out until January or February with multiple knee injuries.

"Certainly, Shaun's situation has us thinking about point guards," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "Obviously, we have to protect ourselves in that position somehow."

That protection could be more likely to come through free agency or a trade. Ohio State's Mike Conley and Texas A&M's Acie Law are expected to be taken before the Clippers' pick. The next best point guard available could be Georgia Tech's Javaris Crittenton, but there might be better players available that play other positions.

"I think you get in trouble looking for someone to fill a particular need," general manager Elgin Baylor said. "You might need a player, but he won't fit in as well. We're trying to get the player that would fit in best. People say, 'Go and get the best player.' The best player will serve our need, whether it's a guard or whatever position he plays."

Moving up in the draft to land Conley or Law seems unlikely.

"That probably will be very difficult to do," Baylor said. "I don't think there's any possibility of moving up, because in order to do that you're going to have to give up a good player, a player you don't want to move."

Two of the talented non-point guards that could drop to the Clippers are USC's Nick Young and Georgia Tech's Thaddeus Young, both of whom worked out for the Clippers this month. In fact, USC's Young was the only player brought back for a second workout with the team.

If the Clippers go that route, or any non-point guard route, it would leave free agency or a trade as the only answers for the point-guard problem, and the free-agency crop at that position isn't too exciting.

Milwaukee's Maurice Williams will be an unrestricted free agent, but he likely will command more than the $5 million mid-level exception the Clippers can use to sign a player. That might leave Denver's Steve Blake as the next best available point guard. But a slew of teams likely will make a play for him.

With Sam Cassell turning 38 in November and having missed 24 games last season with injuries, it isn't reasonable to think he could play starter's minutes this season. Jason Hart was solid as a starter after Livingston was injured, and the Clippers could opt to re-sign him.

But for anything dramatic to happen for the team's roster needs to be met, Baylor may have to engineer a trade, which will be difficult with the league's salary-cap structure.

Notes: Guillermo Diaz, a second-round pick from last season, will be on the Clippers' summer- league team. -- Sofoklis Schortsanitis, a second-round pick in 2003 who turned 22 Friday, still is under contract with his Greek team and is not expected to be with the Clippers' summer-league team until next year.

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Georgia Tech's Javaris Crittenton, left, and USC's Nick Young are players the Clippers have their eyes on at the No. 14 slot.

Left: Paul Abell/Getty Images; right: Joe Murphy/Getty Images

(3 -- color) LIVINGSTON