NBA Draft Lottery : Clippers Set Sights on an Aircraft Carrier Named Robinson

David Robinson, Navy’s 7-foot All-American center, looms as the grand prize in today’s National Basketball Assn. draft lottery.

And the Clippers, who lost more games than any other team in the league this season, are hoping to win the rights to draft him, even though they may have to wait two years until he gets out of the Navy.

They say Robinson is worth the wait.

“David Robinson is the best player available this year,” said Elgin Baylor, Clipper general manager who will represent the club here. “He’s a great basketball player and a great person. He has a lot of character and he’s a classy young man.

“No one knows what he wants to do. He doesn’t even have an agent yet. But if we win the lottery, we’d make every effort to sign him because he’s worth waiting for.”

The Clippers, who didn’t have a first- or second-round draft pick last season, also have two other first-round choices in the National Basketball Assn. draft June 22 as the result of trades with the Houston Rockets and the Detroit Pistons.

Because of a change in the lottery rules, the Clippers are assured of picking no worse than fourth, since they had the worst record in the league.

The lottery determines the order in which the league’s seven worst teams will select in the NBA draft.

The six other lottery teams are the New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns.

The Seattle SuperSonics also have a vested interest in the lottery because of a trade that sent Gerald Henderson to the New York Knicks. Seattle will get the Knicks’ pick if New York draws fourth or worse in the lottery. The Knicks will keep their pick, though, if they draw third or better.

Robinson, college basketball’s 1987 Player of the Year, is a virtual lock to be the No. 1 player picked in next month’s draft.

“I don’t think there’s any question that he is the top player this year,” said Jerry Colangelo, general manager of the Phoenix Suns. “He’s an exceptional human being. It would be very difficult for someone to pass on David Robinson.

“But there are obviously extenuating circumstances with him. Whoever is in the position to draft him will have to do a lot of work between the lottery and the NBA draft to determine if he wants to play and I’d welcome that opportunity.”

Said Wayne Embry, general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers: “I think he’ll very definitely be the first player picked. He’s got a two-year commitment, but that shouldn’t deter anybody from drafting him. He’s exceptional and you don’t get an opportunity to draft a player like that very often.”

Said Dick McGuire, chief scout for the New York Knicks: “He is an automatic No. 1.”

Robinson, however, is obligated to a two-year military commitment, which gives him more control of his future than most NBA draftees.

“Robinson will go back into the draft next year unless he signs with the team that selects him within one year of this year’s draft,” NBA Commissioner David Stern said.

“But he’ll become a free agent if he’s still unsigned after two seasons and he’ll be able to sign with any team.”

Robinson has also said he wants to play for the U.S. Olympic team next year.

Stern said Robinson could sign with a pro team and still play in the Olympics.

“If I were Mr. Robinson I might consider signing,” Stern continued. “As far as I understand it, he can sign a contract with a team and still retain his amateur status for the Olympics if he doesn’t set foot on a (pro) court.

“But if somebody signs him, you’re taking a risk that he might get hurt and not be able to play. None of the rules were designed with the Robinson situation in mind.”

There’s also the possibility that a team might draft Robinson, and trade his rights to another team.

Said an NBA scout: “The (lottery) teams have three options. They can draft him and sign him, they can can draft him and trade away his rights, or they can not draft him. And I don’t think anybody’s going to take option No. 3.”

Among the other players mentioned by NBA scouts and general managers as possible high picks are forward Reggie Williams of Georgetown, forward Armon Gilliam of Nevada Las Vegas, center Horace Grant of Clemson, guard Dennis Hopson of Ohio State, guard Kenny Smith of North Carolina, and center Derrick McKey of Alabama.

The NBA lottery, which will be televised live by CBS at halftime of today’s Boston Celtics-Milwaukee Bucks playoff game, will be run like a TV game show but without Vanna White. Here’s how the lottery works:

Team logos have been put in identical envelopes, sealed under the supervision of an accounting firm and placed in a clear container.

A random draw will be held this morning to determine the order in which teams will select envelopes, then at the lottery, each team will draw an envelope and hand it to a league security official.

The first four envelopes will represent the fourth through seventh picks and will be put on a display board in inverse order of the team’s records.

The fifth envelope will represent the third pick, the sixth envelope the No. 2 pick and the last envelope the No. 1 pick.

Commissioner Stern, playing the role of Monty Hall, then will announce the picks.