Clippers Land on Top

Thank goodness for the Clippers. At least one of L.A.’s pro basketball team is on a winning streak.

In the space of a few months, the Clippers will have secured:

* a new home at the Staples Center beginning in the fall of 1999.

* a new coach.

* a new star, or stars.

The final category became a sure thing Sunday when the Clippers landed the first pick in the 1998 NBA draft at the lottery in Secaucus, N.J., a pick with which they are expected to select Arizona guard Mike Bibby.

Unless they get an offer from another team they can’t refuse.

Clipper General Manager Elgin Baylor, who was on hand for the lottery, wouldn’t be specific about his team’s choice.

But it wouldn’t take a Sherlock Holmes to deduce his thinking. Baylor declared that he is certain he will sign free-agent center Isaac Austin, praised his front court and conceded that there are serious problems in his backcourt where no one was effective last season at playing the point.

“It is no secret that we need to improve our backcourt,” Baylor said.

And it is certainly no secret that the Clippers think highly of Bibby, the 20-year-old guard who led Arizona to the NCAA title in 1997. A sophomore, Bibby is coming out early after averaging 17.2 points and 5.7 assists per game last season. He started all 69 games at point guard during his two-year college career, scoring 20 or more points 19 times with five double-doubles. Bibby’s career assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.1 to 1.

“It’s not in stone who we are going to take,” Baylor said, “even though we think highly of this particular player.”

That would be Bibby.

“I feel good about it,” said Baylor of the outcome of the lottery, “because it puts us in a really good position where others would like to be. And we are willing to listen to other offers.”

Technically, the Clippers didn’t win Sunday’s lottery. That honor went to the Vancouver Grizzlies. But when the Grizzlies entered the league three years ago, part of their expansion agreement stipulated that they were not eligible for the first lottery pick for three years.

So the Clippers, 17-65 this season, move up to the top spot for the June 24 draft, followed by the Grizzlies (19-63), the Denver Nuggets (11-71), the Toronto Raptors (16-66), the Golden State Warriors (19-63), the Dallas Mavericks (20-62) and the Sacramento Kings (27-55).

Besides Bibby, the other top prospects in this draft, in no particular order, are: forward Antawn Jamison of North Carolina, swingman Paul Pierce of Kansas, swingman Vince Carter of No. Carolina, forward Raef LaFrentz of Kansas and center Michael Olowokandi of Pacific.

If Austin, obtained by the Clippers in a February trade with the Miami Heat, chooses to swim elsewhere when he dives into the free-agent market, the Clippers would be interested in Olowokandi.

According to a source close to the Clippers, Austin, after arriving and checking out the scene, informed management that he wouldn’t return if Bill Fitch remained as coach. That became a moot issue when Fitch was fired two days after the Clippers’ final game.

Still, why is Baylor so confident he can retain Austin?

“Because of his feelings about the organization,” Baylor said, “and the team and his teammates. He liked the city and I gather that he wants to be here next year.”

Who the coach will be next year is unknown, and may well remain unknown when the Clippers actually draft next month. Seattle Supersonic Coach George Karl is thought to be the top choice, should he be cut loose as expected. But Karl is expected to ask for the general manager’s job, as well as that of head coach, from any future employers.

That may be too much to ask of Clipper owner Donald Sterling.

The only other time the Clippers had the No. 1 pick, they used it to select Danny Manning from Kansas in 1988.

In 1995, the Clippers used the No. 2 selection to pick Antonio McDyess of Alabama, but then traded the draft rights to McDyess, along with Randy Woods, to Denver for Rodney Rogers and the draft rights to Brent Barry.

In the past, representatives from various teams taking part in the lottery have used everything from a rabbit’s foot to breakfast at a good-luck restaurant to enhance their chances.

Not Baylor.

“I prayed a lot,” he said. “Prayer is a lot stronger than rabbit’s feet, horseshoes and all that.”

So much for those who always say the Clippers don’t have a prayer.

* J.A. ADANDE

Granted, they are the Clippers, but after years of futility, maybe luck is finally going to be on their side. C12

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Top Clipper Draft Picks

A look at the first selections by the Clippers in the draft since the team moved to Los Angeles:

1985: Benoit Benjamin (third overall)

1986: Dwayne Polee (third round, 53rd overall)

1987: Reggie Williams (fourth)

1988: Danny Manning (first)

1989: Danny Ferry (second)

1990: Bo Kimble (eighth)

1991: LeRon Ellis (22nd)

1992: Randy Woods (16th)

1993: Terry Dehere (13th)

1994: Lamond Murray (seventh)

1995: Antonio McDyess (second)

1996: Lorenzen Wright (seventh)

1997: Maurice Taylor (14th)

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NBA Draft at a Glance

* When: June 24

* Where: Vancouver

THE FIRST ROUND

1. Clippers

2. Vancouver

3. Denver

4. Toronto

5. Golden State

6. Dallas

7. Sacramento

8. Philadephia

9. Milwaukee

10. Boston

11. Detroit

12. Orlando

13. Orlando.

14. Houston

15. Orlando

16. New York

17. Minnesota

18. Toronto

19. Milwaukee

20. Atlanta

21. Charlotte

22. Clippers

23. Denver

24. San Antonio

25. Indiana

26. Lakers

27. Seattle

28. Chicago

29. Utah