LOS ANGELES -- Here are five observations of the Los Angeles Clippers from training camp:

	Sterling may pay only Elton Brand and Andre Miller.

1. What will Donald do? After nearly 20 years of the Donald T. Sterling Era in L.A., do we even have to ask? The best-case scenario for Clippers fans -- a species of actual, living humans in the new millennium -- is that Sterling will someday pay top dollar to hold onto Elton Brand and Andre Miller, and then build around those two. Book it: Michael Olowokandi is gone next summer. Lamar Odom has made Sterling's negotiating stance easier to defend with his off-court troubles and was nearly traded over the summer. Brand and Miller are the unquestioned stars here now, but you wonder whether Sterling is even willing to give either one the max. You suspect it's more likely he'll ask them to take less. Of course, guys like Brand, Miller and Olowokandi really don't have to worry, because they will get their zillions eventually, from someone else if necessary. It's the role players who need minutes and touches to get the stats that lead to big dollars, and that's why plenty of folks expect these guys to unravel. Coach Alvin Gentry has a long list of players to mollify.

2. Book it, II: Miller is not going to be one of the problems. He's back home in L.A. and thrilled about it. And he's wowing everyone in Clip circles by making a team decimated by injuries flow smoothly so far. "They have the cliché about eyes in the back of your head," Brand said. "Andre's got 'em on the side, in the front, underneath. I'm just watching every day and I can't wait to get back out there with him and get some of those layups myself." Watch for Gentry to play Miller and Marko Jaric together at times for extra poise, given all of L.A.'s late-game struggles the past two seasons. As for Odom's quest to fit back in, he'll continue to start at small forward once he returns from ankle trouble. Odom plans to return in December. Brand insists that he won't let the return disrupt anything, insisting louder that one lineup and one ball can accommodate Miller and Odom and everyone else. "We will make room," Brand said.

3. The outspoken Olowokandi -- who torched the organization last season even before contract negotiations ended in a one-year, $6.1 million extension -- is vowing to "put all that behind me." He speaks now of the team's need to "go out there and basically forget about all these contractual issues." A new Kandi? Not really. Book it, III: Olowokandi knows he will be playing in Denver, San Antonio or Miami next season. By agreeing to the one-year extension, the Clippers forfeited the right to trade Olowokandi for the whole season, after which the 7-footer becomes an unrestricted free agent. Kandi already has a relationship with the Nuggets, and the Spurs will undoubtedly be just as interested, because Tim Duncan prefers to stay at power forward and San Antonio will be needing a David Robinson replacement. Miami? Kandi simply loves the cosmopolitan atmosphere by the beach and will give the Heat a hard look if Pat Riley makes a pitch. All three of those teams will have the salary-cap room to sign Olowokandi away without need to come up with compensation for L.A.

4. Keyon Dooling perfectly illustrates the rotation challenge Gentry faces. Dooling practiced Monday for the first time since November. Because of the inactivity, he's probably the Clippers' third point guard unless Jaric has a rocky rookie start. That leaves Gentry with the challenge of finding Dooling time and keeping him focused. In a league with a serious QB shortage, it would thus figure that Dooling is ideal trade material for the Clips to strengthen themselves elsewhere. Dooling, though, almost certainly won't be traded somewhere he can get more minutes because L.A. will undoubtedly prefer to keep him around as bargain-priced insurance for a Miller departure this summer. If Miller's homecoming only lasts a season, suddenly Dooling re-emerges as a huge element of the Clips' future.

5. OK, OK. Time to ease up on Sterling. The imminent addition of Wang Zhizhi means the Clippers will have a whopping 16 players with guaranteed contracts, one more than the maximum allowed. That means L.A. will have to cut at least one guaranteed contract (likely Tremaine Fowlkes) before opening night, and maybe two because of training-camp sensation Mike Batiste. After Sunday's exhibition win over Memphis, in which Batiste carried the Clips in crunch time and finished with 24 points, Sterling visited the home locker room and warned anyone he encountered that cutting Batiste would be a big mistake. The 6-foot-8, 225-pounder has averaged 20.1 points per game in the preseason and could help the Clippers in an area of serious need -- shooting. Keeping Batiste likely endangers Bryant Stith.

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. E-mail him at marc.stein@espn3.com.