Net Losses Add Up to a Win in the Lottery : Pro basketball: New Jersey, the team with the worst record, will have first pick in the NBA draft June 27. Seattle, beating the odds, will draft second.

He would like to thank all the little people who made this possible, the guard play that enabled the New Jersey Nets to reach No. 1 by being No. 27.

“Our guys worked real hard to get this pick,” Willis Reed, the team’s vice president for basketball operations, said on stage, a deadpan statement but hardly an act.

Being bad finally paid off for the Nets, the NBA’s losingest team this season. Sunday afternoon, in position to do no worse than fourth, they went all the way to the top, getting the first pick for the June 27 draft in the annual lottery drawing at the Equitable Center.

The Clippers, who finished no lower than sixth in their five previous visits to the league’s game show for the under-privileged, this time got eighth. But, they did win a draw against Dallas for the right to the 13th pick, the Mavericks taking 14th.

As was the case last year, the team that landed No. 1 declined to name its choice and the Clippers immediately threw out the possibility of a trade. The most likely course for the Nets, at least, is Syracuse’s Derrick Coleman, a power forward who doesn’t help a ragged backcourt but fills the best-player-available criteria and backstops in case Roy Hinson fails to come back from knee surgery.

The remainder of the draft order, lottery version: 2. Seattle; 3. Miami; 4. Orlando; 5. Charlotte; 6. Minnesota; 7. Sacramento; 8. Clippers; 9. Dallas (acquired in a 1986 trade with Washington); 10. Golden State; 11. Atlanta.

The SuperSonics, who had only two Ping-Pong balls in the weighted lottery system, compared with 11 for New Jersey, are surprisingly high considering their odds. But when Commissioner David Stern opened the 10th envelope, the lowest Seattle could be without making the top three, and the Warrior logo showed, the Sonics were guaranteed to be in the money.

“I was excited,” said team president Bob Whitsitt, who proved it by having his jaw drop open while on stage. “I kept thinking at 10 that our logo would show, but when it was turned over, suddenly I was in love with this system. Once we were in the top three, I wasn’t going to get greedy. To go 41-41 with injuries and get the No. 2 pick, we have to be happy.”

And unsure of their next move. Dennis Scott of Georgia Tech appears to be the second-best player available, but the SuperSonics already have Dale Ellis at shooting guard. So they could go with Gary Payton at the point or make a deal.

In a draft with depth at guard but little else, the Clippers have the same uncertainty.

“You always want to get No. 1,” Clipper General Manager Elgin Baylor said. “It gives you more flexibility. The higher the better, especially if you’re going to move the pick. But we’ll get a good player at No. 8 if we decide to get into the draft.”

The Lakers will pick 27th, last in the first round, and 51st. The Clippers have no second-round pick, having sent it to Golden State in the Winston Garland trade.

NBA Notes

Mike Fratello is expected to talk with Clipper officials about the coaching job again Tuesday when he comes to Los Angeles on other business. Mike Schuler, two seats away from Elgin Baylor on the stage while representing the Golden State Warriors, said he has no second interview scheduled. Those are the only two people to meet with Baylor regarding the coaching vacancy, though the general manager said he has one more candidate in mind. Atlanta could name its new coach as soon as today, General Manager Pete Babcock said, with Willis Reed, Dave Wohl, Paul Silas and Bob Weiss in contention. That figures to be only the start of personnel moves for the Hawks, who have been held back by poor team chemistry. “There are no untouchables,” Babcock said. Former Clipper coach Don Casey remains a possibility for assistant there, though the final decision will belong to the new coach.