The NBA : Winner of This Clipper Giveaway Has to Score

For their last home game of the regular season, April 24 against the Seattle SuperSonics, the Clippers are offering a fan--to be chosen at random--a chance to win $1 million by making a shot from the opposite free-throw line or the half-court line, depending on whether the shooter is male or female.

Laker publicist Josh Rosenfeld, for one, isn’t impressed by the potential payoff. “We gave Magic two-and-a-half million for making that shot last season,” he said, referring to the 77-foot shot Johnson sank against the Denver Nuggets during the opening round of the playoffs last spring.

The contest is not the first example of Clipper generosity, to be sure. This is, after all, the franchise that signed Benoit Benjamin to a 4-year, $3.5-million contract that is paying him $1.082 million this season, $382,000 deferred, and $1 million for next, $300,000 deferred.

And according to a recent survey by Sports inc., a sports marketing publication that calculated the cost per win of each team by taking the total payroll, not counting bonuses and roster shifts, and dividing it by victories, the Clippers’ wins came more dearly than any other team: $468,000 per W. (Don’t forget: For every former Continental Basketball Assn. player on the Clipper roster, the team is still paying Marques Johnson $1.4 million and Norm Nixon $990,000. Both have been injured all season.)

Detroit and Dallas were the most cost efficient, at $96,000. The Lakers ranked 14th, at $154,000. Boston was at $143,000.

Money, of course, was a hot topic in the league last week. There was the restructuring of Magic Johnson’s contract, which will pay him more than $3.1 million next season. And there were the reports that Chicago’s Michael Jordan was about to sign a $28-million, 8-year contract, which would average $3.5 million a season.

Jordan professed no knowledge of the impending deal, but wryly added: “If somebody offered you $28 million, wouldn’t you take it?”

Then there’s Larry Bird, who couldn’t help but notice the Brink’s trucks clogging up the passing lanes. It occurred to Bird--who is scheduled to be paid $1.8 million this season and next, an option of $1.5 million for 1990-91--that he might be in line for a raise, too.

“I’m not going to go in and ask for a raise,” Bird said the other night. “It’s up to (the Celtics) to do something and I’m sure they will. They know how I feel.”

The Celtics, hamstrung by the salary cap, can’t do much other than to give Bird a contract extension for much bigger bucks, which might alter his plans to retire after two more seasons.

“I can’t get specific, but we have every interest in taking care of Larry,” General Manager Jan Volk said.

That shouldn’t be too hard, according to Boston Globe columnist Leigh Montville. His advice to the Celtics: Give Bird $1 more than the highest-paid player in the league.

Add cash registers: Then there’s the case of Denver Nugget Michael Adams, whose record 3-point shooting streak has inspired a new poster, featuring the 5-foot 10-inch guard as the Long Ranger.

But wait a minute: Distribution of the poster, which was to have sold for $3.33, has been held up because Adams wants $20,000 up front, plus a percentage of the profits. The Nuggets have offered $1,000, plus a percentage.

Adams reportedly is lobbying for a higher price tag on the poster, which prompted these suggestions from Steve Luehm of the Salt Lake Tribune: Make it $5.10, to match Adams’ height; $22.90, the 3-point distance, or go all the way and ask $82, matching the length of the regular season.

No shore leave yet: Reports that Ens. David Robinson might be bound for the San Antonio Spurs sooner than expected with the appointment of a new Secretary of the Navy, William L. Ball III, appear unfounded. Ball’s predecessor, James Webb, ruled that Robinson, who signed with the Spurs last fall after being the No. 1 pick overall in the National Basketball Assn. draft, was required to give the Navy two years of service.

“We are working with the same guidance Secretary Webb has given,” Lt. Brian Cullin, a Navy information officer, told Jerry Sullivan of Newsday. “(Ball) will most likely review it. However, basically this is the arrangement that has been made for Ens. Robinson, and there’s no indication it is going to change.”

Robinson is planning to report to the Olympic basketball trials May 18.

Far-Fitched? The latest Bill Fitch rumors has the embattled coach of the Houston Rockets leaving to coach the expansion Minnesota Timberwolves, who aren’t scheduled to begin play until the 1989-90 season.

Last week was another tough one for Fitch, who recently was blasted by star center Akeem Olajuwon. Fitch reportedly challenged a heckler to a fight after a loss at home to the Denver Nuggets. “Meet me in the parking lot,” Fitch was said to have shouted at the fan.

Two nights later, at least a dozen fans showed up at the Summit wearing black T-shirts that read: “The Parking Lot Crew.”

More fan-fare: One of the more bizarre examples of crowd behavior comes from Utah, where fans in the Salt Palace have taken to cheering wildly whenever Jazz fat man Mel Turpin enters the game. Apparently, it’s their way of showing their discontent with Mark Eaton, who leads the league in blocked shots but remains a severe offensive liability. But Turpin is almost as out of shape as Utah Coach Frank Layden.

“I’m flabbergasted,” Layden said of his home crowd. “If we were to sign Kadafi to a 10-day contract, our fans would demand he get into a game. It just blows my mind. Are they watching the game, or what?

“If we didn’t have Mark Eaton, we wouldn’t make the playoffs.”

Coach Jerry Reynolds of the Sacramento Kings suggests that a coach should be able to select players from the coach’s hometown. Reynolds is from French Lick, Ind., birthplace of one L. Bird.

“How could anyone be upset?” Reynolds said. “There ain’t that many.”