No. 9 Not So Fine for Clippers in NBA Lottery : Pro basketball: Baylor still hopes to acquire a veteran point guard. Charlotte gets first pick.

After Sunday’s lottery established that the Clippers own the No. 9 pick in next month’s NBA draft, General Manager Elgin Baylor reiterated that what the Clippers need most won’t be available in the selection process.

Only a trade will bring the Clippers a veteran point guard.

With that in mind, the lottery results were a disappointment to the Clippers, and not just because they failed to beat long odds under a weighted system to land one of the top three picks.

Neither did the Dallas Mavericks or the Minnesota Timberwolves, whose point guards, Derek Harper and Pooh Richardson, are said to be coveted by the Clippers.

The Clippers hoped that either the Mavericks or Timberwolves would be in a position to take point guard Kenny Anderson of Georgia Tech, then make their current point guard available to the Clippers in a trade.

But with the Mavericks picking sixth and the Timberwolves seventh, the highly touted Anderson probably won’t be available to either.

Still, Baylor is hopeful that, if offered the right package, somebody will offer him an experienced backcourt leader.

Even if the Clippers were in a position to take Anderson, Baylor said, they probably still would pursue a veteran guard.

“I think the chances of being successful, at least for the next year or maybe two, are greater with an experienced player coming in to give you the leadership that you want,” Baylor said. “You don’t bring in a rookie and expect him to lead the team.”

A higher pick, though, would have given Baylor more flexibility.

“Certainly, it would have made it easier to get the player we wanted,” he said. “(But) I think with No. 9, we’ll be able to get a veteran point guard. I just think perhaps we might have to add something to it--it might be a player, it might be (another) draft pick.”

The Clippers also own pick No. 22 or 23 in the June 26 draft.

The Charlotte Hornets were the big winners in the lottery, which involved the 11 teams that failed to make the NBA playoffs. The Hornets landed the No. 1 pick even though four teams had worse records this season.

After a lottery established the top three picks, choices No. 4-11 were based on inverse order of finish this season.

Vice president Allan Bristow of Charlotte mentioned Anderson, center Dikembe Mutombo of Georgetown and forwards Larry Johnson of Nevada Las Vegas and Billy Owens of Syracuse as possible No. 1 picks.

The order of the next 10 picks: 2. New Jersey; 3. Sacramento; 4. Denver; 5. Miami; 6. Dallas; 7. Minnesota; 8. Washington; 9. Clippers; 10. Orlando; 11. Cleveland.

Times staff writer Scott Howard-Cooper contributed to this story.