Andre Miller will soon be a Denver Nugget.

The Los Angeles Clippers have decided they will not match the Nuggets' offer for the free agent guard, Nuggets spokesman Eric Sebastian said Thursday. The Clippers had until midnight ET to do so.

A Clippers spokesman said the team had no immediate comment.

The Nuggets signed Miller to a six-year, $51 million offer sheet earlier this month. The offer for the four-year NBA veteran includes a $10 million signing bonus and performance bonuses that could push its total value to more than $55 million.

The Nuggets tied Cleveland for the worst record in the league at 17-65 and lost leading scorer and rebounder Juwan Howard in free agency. But they have a good, young core group of players.

Brazilian forward Nene Hilario was a member of the NBA's All-Rookie team last season, while forward Rodney White showed glimpses of why the Detroit Pistons used a lottery pick on him two years ago. The Nuggets also have Syracuse star Carmelo Anthony, who they took with the third pick in this year's draft.

All signs point toward Andre Miller becoming a Denver Nugget at 8:59 PDT tonight, with the Clippers content to let expire a league-mandated 15-day deadline to match a $51-million contract over the next six seasons.

The Clippers' expected inaction on Miller, after matching offers from the Miami Heat for Elton Brand and from the Utah Jazz for Corey Maggette this month, would mean the team would have its third starting point guard in as many seasons.

After not matching Denver's offer, the Clippers would use either Keyon Dooling or Marko Jaric to direct new Coach Mike Dunleavy's high-tempo offense.

Jeff McInnis signed as a free agent with the Portland Trail Blazers after the 2001-02 season. McInnis' brash style rubbed teammates and coaches the wrong way and the Clippers were only too happy to be rid of him, particularly after dealing for Miller last summer.

Miller also clashed with teammates and coaches after the Clippers sent fan favorite Darius Miles to the Cleveland Cavaliers to get him. Miller had been the NBA's leader in assists while with Cleveland in 2001-02, averaging 10.9, but he averaged 6.7 for the Clippers last season.

When the Los Angeles Clippers matched Utah's six-year, $42 million offer sheet to swingman Corey Maggette on Tuesday, the Heat may have moved a step closer to signing Clippers forward Lamar Odom.

The Clippers must decide by today whether to match Denver's six-year, $51 million offer sheet to guard Andre Miller. The Heat may be awaiting that decision before issuing an offer sheet to Odom, although the club had no comment on its plans Wednesday.

"It's an ongoing negotiation, an ongoing evaluation and there are some triggers in the next week that will bring some information into the equation," Heat General Manager Randy Pfund said last week. "We've got to play this thing close to the vest.

The Clippers probably will not be able to retain Maggette, Odom and Miller because of salary-cap issues. That means they have to make a choice on which two to keep.

The Heat's best chance at landing Odom is to offer a contract worth more than the Clippers could match.

The Los Angeles Clippers retained shooting guard Corey Maggette on Tuesday, matching the offer sheet he signed July 14 with the Utah Jazz.

The Clippers previously kept forward Elton Brand by matching the offer sheet he signed with the Miami Heat, and have until Wednesday to decide whether they'll match the offer sheet point guard Andre Miller signed with Denver.

Maggette signed a six-year offer sheet with Utah believed to be worth $42 million. He is now under contract for those terms with the Clippers.

In one fell swoop Tuesday, the Jazz got some bad news regarding Corey Maggette ? and corrected some decidedly inaccurate news about another restricted free agent, combo guard Jason Terry.

As for Maggette, Jazz officials learned Tuesday afternoon that the Los Angeles Clippers ? as has been widely speculated that they would ? officially matched Utah's six-year, reported $45 million offer to the 23-year-old shooting guard out of Duke.
     
"Corey's a terrific basketball player, and we wish him the best," Kevin O'Connor, the Jazz's senior vice president of basketball operations, said shortly after receiving word on Maggette.

The Los Angeles Clippers have matched two of their restricted free agents' offer sheets, and the Nuggets are crossing their fingers that their Western Conference rival has no surprises for them.

The Clippers retained shooting guard Corey Maggette on Tuesday, matching a six-year offer sheet from the Utah Jazz believed to be worth $42 million. The Clippers previously matched a six-year offer sheet forward Elton Brand signed with the Miami Heat, believed to be worth $83 million.

The Nuggets signed Clippers point guard Andre Miller to an offer sheet July 15, and Los Angeles has until late Thursday to match it. The Nuggets offered a six-year deal that could be worth more than $55 million.

The Clippers are expected to let Miller go and re-sign swingman Lamar Odom, also a restricted free agent. But until Miller is unofficially theirs, the Nuggets will be waiting anxiously.

Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe chose not to read too much into the Clippers' signings.

"That says both good and bad for Andre," he said. "We'll just have to wait and see. The good is they used up some of their (salary) cap space, and the bad is they used some of their cap space."

The Jazz decided weeks ago that Corey Maggette is going places in the NBA. Because the Clippers finally realized the same thing, Maggette is going nowhere.

The Clippers exercised their right to match the Jazz's offer to the fourth-year guard on Tuesday, dealing an expected, but still painful, blow to Utah's attempts to rebuild through free agency.

"You say, 'I think the Clippers were smart and signed a terrific player,' and go on," said Kevin O'Connor, the Jazz's vice president of basketball operations. O'Connor signed Maggette to a reported six-year, $42 million contract on July 16, but because he was a restricted free agent, Los Angeles had until Thursday morning to offer the same deal and keep their starting guard.

"We're really glad he will be back for the long term," Clippers vice president Elgin Baylor said in a statement announcing the transaction with Maggette, who averaged 16.8 points in 64 games for L.A. last season. Baylor still has a day to decide whether to match Denver's long-term offer to point guard Andre Miller; the Clippers have already done so with a six-year, $82 million contract for forward Elton Brand.

The Jazz, with $21 million to spend under the salary cap and a dwindling supply of free agents to lavish it on, can only wish they had those sort of decisions to make. Instead, O'Connor is left to negotiate with Hawks point guard Jason Terry -- another restricted free agent whose team has publicly said it would match any offer he receives -- and lesser free-agent talents, or troll league rosters for trade possibilities.

Terry, a 6-2 guard who averaged 17.2 points and 7.4 assists in his fourth season with the Hawks, has received an offer from the Jazz, his agent said Tuesday, though the two sides are not ready to formalize things, and start Atlanta's 15-day clock to match, by signing an offer sheet yet.

Since the failed effort to wrench restricted free agent power forward Elton Brand from the Clippers, the Heat still has a fistful of cash to spend.

Tuesday night, the oft-maligned Clippers proved their intent to retain their young core of restricted free agents by matching Utah's six-year, $42-million offer sheet for guard Corey Maggette.

All signs indicate that the Clippers, who have already lost free agent center Michael Olowokandi to the Timberwolves and sharpshooting guard Eric Piatkowski to the Rockets, will do everything in their power to retain restricted free agent forward Lamar Odom.

The Heat has long coveted the left-handed 6-foot-10 star in the making and met with him last week in Miami.

"It's been obvious we have interest in Lamar," Heat General Manager Randy Pfund said last week. "It's an ongoing negotiation, ongoing evaluation and there are some triggers [this week] that probably will bring some more information into the equation."

The Clippers pulled the first trigger -- now it's up to the Heat to figure out how much they want Odom and to make him an offer that owner Donald Sterling will refuse.

The Clippers are proud to announce the re-signing of forward Corey Maggette.

The club matched an offer presented by the Utah Jazz, thereby re-signing the restricted free agent to a multi-year contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

?Through consistent hard work and effort, Corey has improved his game each year he has been in the league, and there is no reason to believe he won?t continue to get even better,? said Clippers Vice President of Basketball Operations Elgin Baylor. ?We?re really glad that he will be back for the long term.?

A 6?6? high-flyer out of Duke University, Maggette registered his finest season during the 2002-03 campaign, averaging 16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 31.3 minutes in 64 games played. Maggette ranked second on the team in scoring, increasing his scoring average by 5.4 points per game over his previous year?s average.

?I am very excited about the opportunity to coach Corey,? stated Clippers Head Coach Mike Dunleavy. ?Obviously, I have followed him closely since his days at Duke. He has done a terrific job of developing his all around game and I look forward to being a part of his continued development.?

Lamar Odom has reportedly narrowed his list of potential teams to the Heat, Clippers and Nuggets.

Odom visited the Heat last week, but Miami is awaiting Los Angeles' decision on whether it will match offers made to Corey Maggette (by Utah) and Andre Miller (Denver).

If the Clippers do match Maggette's offer sheet, it is expected the Heat will sign Odom to an offer sheet, which the Clippers would then have 15 days to match.

The Nuggets are also awaiting the Clippers' decision on Miller before they consider seriously pursuing Odom.

The Heat might be willing to take a chance on Odom simply because there are very few remaining quality free agents available. Elden Campbell, who signed with the Pistons, and Darrell Armstrong, who signed with the Hornets, are among the latest free agents to find new teams.