CLIPPERS NOTEBOOK: HAPPY WITH SMALL PACKAGES.

Byline: Randy Hill Staff Writer

Here's what happened the last time Ford's better idea was to go small:

The Escort.

But Chris Ford is offering a wisdom that's as economical as it is anathema to what is normal in the NBA.

He's thinking small.

``We have a lot of quickness, a lot of guys who play multiple positions,'' Ford, the Clippers' second-year coach, said after Tuesday's training-camp opener at L.A. Southwest College. ``But we're not very big.''

So getting bigger players isn't the solution?

No, the Clippers may keep down-sizing.

``We may have to go small,'' said Ford, who proceeded to call the roll of players whose quickness could be a boon to the team's bid to finally win more frequently than a taxpayer taking on the IRS.

Rookie forward Lamar Odom, who checks in at 6-foot-9, has the chutzpah - if not the sinew - to compete at four positions. Newly acquired shooting guard Derek Anderson - who can get past you faster than a three-day weekend - can handle the point. Second-year small forward Tyrone Nesby has the wheels to defend big guards.

``We have to use our quickness to take the size matchups we may have and turn them around to our advantage,'' Ford said.

The NBA's threat to eliminate defensive mugging also may benefit an athletic crew like the young Clippers.

``We have to gain an edge where we can,'' Ford added. ``Our margin for error is not great.''

Thin is in: ``This,'' Ford said, ``is the way NBA camps are supposed to be.''

He was referring to Tuesday's tempo, effort and absence of oxygen breaks required for chubby players to bend and wheeze.

Such effort was virtually impossible during the abbreviated camps that followed last season's lockout.

``I think the guys are in great shape,'' said Ford, who pushed the Clippers through several full-court drills in the two-hour workout.

``Now we're back to normalcy,'' Ford said.

Speaking of abnormal - relative to Clippers talent history - we now offer Ford's capsule reviews of his three marquee stars-in-waiting, Maurice Taylor, Odom and center Michael Olowokandi:

``Mo's fine,'' he said of Taylor, whose contract-extension issue could have been an immediate distraction. ``I like the frame of mind he's in.''

On Odom: ``He's a 19-year-old rookie who's having a lot of things thrown at him all at once. He's spinning like a top sometimes, but these repetitions should be of great value to his development.''

On Olowokandi: ``The surgery he had on his knee has been very beneficial to Michael. He's a lot more active. And he has a better understanding of what it's going to take.''