It’s No Lock, but Harper Wouldn’t Mind a Return

Guard Ron Harper, who compared playing for the Clippers to being in jail before signing with the Chicago Bulls in 1994, said he wouldn’t mind ending his career with the Clippers.

“It’s not jail,” Harper said. “It’s not a bad, bad place to play. They have a good head coach in Bill Fitch, and he’s got some good players out there.

“It just takes time. They’ll be fine in the next two years. I wouldn’t mind going back out there and playing. There isn’t nothing like playing out there.

“It’s not as bad as everybody says it is.”

If guard Brent Barry, free agent at the end of the season, doesn’t re-sign with the Clippers, they might be able to use Harper, whose contract has one year remaining.

Harper missed 13 of 16 shots in the Bulls’ 94-89 win over the Clippers on Tuesday night. Barry missed nine of 10 shots.

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Clipper forward Lorenzen Wright, who looks up to Dennis Rodman, has been rebounding as consistently as Rodman, who is trying to win his seventh consecutive NBA rebounding title.

Wright had 16 rebounds against the Bulls and is averaging 19 in last three games.

Rodman got a technical for hitting Wright with 1:41 remaining in the second quarter.

“He started punching me in my back,” Wright said. “I guess he got frustrated because I was rebounding good in the first half.

“I snatched the ball out of his hands and I felt somebody push me in my back and it was Dennis. I just started laughing and kept on playing. He’s always been my favorite NBA player since I was a kid.”

Rodman had 25 rebounds, his most as a Bull, and outrebounded Wright, 14-3, in the second half.

” He did a good job of grabbing me and stopping me from getting to the ball,” Wright said.