ESPN.com has reported that Clippers' owner Donald Sterling is against dealing Sam Cassell because he still feels as though Los Angeles has a chance at making the playoffs.

Boston is looking for help a the point guard position and might settle for Damon Stoudamire if they don't think a player like Cassell is on the market.

The Clippers decided not to sign Guillermo Diaz after his second 10-day contract expired, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Diaz had a per 40 FIC of 7.0 in just 18 minutes of play.

Other guards are expected to be evaluated for 10-day contracts.

Los Angeles Clippers' forward Elton Brand had his surgically repaired left Achilles tendon re-examined today by Dr. Craig Morgan at Christiana Care?s Wilmington Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware. During the examination Brand was advised by Dr. Morgan that he has been cleared to begin extensive running and jumping exercises on the court.  Brand is scheduled to be examined by team physician Dr. Tony Daly upon his return to Los Angeles.

The next step in the rehabilitation process will lead to Brand returning to team drills and his eventual return to full practice.

Brand originally sustained the injury during his daily workout on Friday, August 3rd at the Spectrum Club South Bay in El Segundo, California.  Dr. Morgan performed the surgery to repair the injury on Tuesday, August 7th.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the Clippers and Mavericks agreed to a trade that would have sent Corey Maggette to Dallas in exchange for Jason Terry.

Clippers' owner Donald Sterling allegedly refused to approve the trade.

"I would only make deals to help our future -- anything else is suicide," said Dunleavy.  "Anything else and you become the New York Knicks. Now if you want to do that and take on big contracts and long-term deals to potentially hit a home run or get some kind of turnaround, that's not the direction I would go as a businessman or if I owned the team."

This summer, Elton Brand can elect to opt out of his contract to become a free agent, but owner Donald Sterling does not anticipate that happening.

"One, based on my conversation with Elton, he's not going to opt out," Sterling told the Los Angeles Times. "And two, whatever he asks for, I think he deserves. He is our franchise player; we need him. You saw a short time ago we were pretty close to being a special team, and now without him you see how difficult it is."

Mike Dunleavy and Elgin Baylor both received warnings from Clippers' owner Don Sterling recently to start winning or changes will be made, the L.A. Times is reporting.  Even though the team is without leader Elton Brand, Sterling is unhappy with how the Clippers' season has gone so far.

"I'm not happy," Sterling said. "The fans aren't happy and can't be happy when they don't see a motivated performance."

"I want to make L.A. fans proud of this team, but if [ElginBaylor and Mike Dunleavy] can't make it happen, then I have no choice but to make changes."

After searching Dunleavy out for a heart-to-heart after the Utah loss, Sterling said he expects more from his coach.

"That's why I'm paying [Dunleavy] the money I am," he said. "I want to see him win. I don't want to tell him how to do it. I'm just interested in the conclusion. My whole philosophy is hire the best people and let them do their jobs."

"There is no alternative; you have to rely on them, and if it doesn't work out, either you're patient or make changes, right?"

Several teams have offered trade proposals to the Clippers for injured forward Elton Brand and center Chris Kaman, said coach Mike Dunleavy to the Los Angeles Times.

"We've been contacted by everybody about a lot of our guys," Dunleavy said. "We've had all kinds of calls on Elton Brand and Kaman. But some of them, you could do a comedy about it."

Teams have also expressed interest in Sam Cassell.

"Anybody can make an offer on anybody," Dunleavy said. "I don't know what it would take for Boston, but if they offered [Kevin] Garnett, I would probably take it. Ray Allen or [Paul] Pierce, I would have to consider it."

The Los Angeles Clippers signed guard Guillermo Diaz to a second consecutive 10-day contract today. Signed to his first 10-day contract on Jan. 8, Diaz has appeared in one game grabbing one rebound in five minutes of action.

Diaz was the NBA?s ninth call-up from the NBA Development League and played with the Anaheim Arsenal this season.

The trade scenarios involving Clippers' point guard Sam Cassell are abundant, and the rumors have swarmed faster in recent weeks with playoff-caliber teams possibly looking for a final piece to put them over the top, the L.A. Times is reporting.

While the Clippers have fielded calls on Cassell's availability and talks could increase leading up to the Feb. 21 trade deadline, the chances of Cassell being dealt, as of now, are small.

"Right now, I'm a member of the Clippers, and that's all I can go by," Cassell said. "I've been traded before. If it happens, it happens."

"It's been a struggle this year, but I enjoy playing here. I wish we had our full capacity of players, but that's not going to happen this year. I don't have four more years of basketball left to play in this league. I won't. I have this year and next year."

"It's not something I'm pursuing," Cassell said of the rumors. "Saying the politically correct thing is one thing, but if you want to be somewhere, you would be somewhere."

Coach Mike Dunleavy declined to discuss Cassell's status specifically but did address trade talks heading into the deadline.

"You have conversations with all kinds of guys and there are interests in players, and you can figure out which guys teams have interest in," he said. "Where there is smoke there is usually a fire. People floating different things out there usually have an interest. That's the way a lot of deals happen. People start throwing things against the wall and hoping it sticks."

The Clippers received an encouraging report on guard Shaun Livingston, who hasn't played since severely injuring his left knee 10 1/2 months ago.

"The medical team feels he's going to make a full recovery," team President Andy Roeser said at halftime of Wednesday night's game against the Magic. "There's a pretty good chance he'll be on the court before the end of the season."