Schintzius Pays a Heavy Price : Overall: Florida center, among the most talented players in the draft, lasts until Spurs make him the No. 24 choice. As expected, Coleman is No. 1 pick.

This is what’s known as balloon payments, NBA style. Gain weight, lose money.

Dwayne Schintzius experienced it Wednesday. His wallet will be feeling it for years.

Among the most talented players in the NBA draft--not to mention a big man, always the top commodity--teams proved that fears over Schintzius were not merely conjecture. It became reality when the 7-foot-1, guess-the-weight center went into a free fall through the first round before the San Antonio Spurs picked him at No. 24.

Even that was a surprise. Most figured the gamble would come from someone picking in the teens, teams such as Golden State or Milwaukee in desperate need of size. Instead, the Warriors went with Tyrone Hill of Xavier and the Bucks with Terry Mills of Michigan.

So why didn’t San Antonio fans feel as if they got a bargain?

Schintzius’ selection was booed by many of the 6,000 watching the proceedings at HemisFair Arena. To them he pledged a mature person, not one who showed up at an important pre-draft evaluation camp at 292 pounds, about 30 over his playing weight at the University of Florida. That was, of course, before he quit the Gators after 11 games and the last of several run-ins with team officials.

“I just want to come down, and I hope the people will give me a chance to develop as a player,” he said. “I’m ready to go. You don’t realize how much I love playing the game of basketball.

“If I had completed my senior year, I would have been up there. People were scared to take a chance. I have no doubt about my attitude or ability.

“I don’t want to be upset. I think it worked out for the best.”

He couldn’t have been thinking money. Schintzius could have been the No. 1 selection, getting a multimillion dollar deal in the process. Now, he’s in the $250,000-a-year range. A contract holdout based on potential wouldn’t be wise either. The Spurs are kind of set at center (see: Robinson, David).

Four centers were picked before Schintzius, and that doesn’t include Hill, 6-10 but regarded as a forward.

“I think he’s perfect for our team,” Coach Larry Brown said. “I think he’ll help David and Terry (Cummings).”

If the Spurs got a potential franchise player, Sacramento, kings of the pre-draft trading frenzy, picked an entire starting lineup: Forwards Lionel Simmons of La Salle (No. 7) and Anthony Bonner of St. Louis (No. 23), guards Travis Mays of Texas (No. 14) and Bimbo Coles of Virginia Tech (No. 40), and center Duane Causwell of Temple (No. 18). The Kings later traded Coles’ rights to Miami.

“We’re not talking Michael Jordan, but we feel very comfortable with them,” said Jerry Reynolds, the team’s director of player personnel. “I would be surprised if all four aren’t in the NBA six or seven years from now.”

Simmons was an obvious pick after the Kings traded Rodney McCray, last year’s starting small forward, to Dallas. That Mays, who could have been a top-eight selection, was still around at No. 14 proved the depth this draft had at guard, if little else.

Three guards went in the first five picks--Gary Payton of Oregon State second to Seattle, Chris Jackson of Louisiana State third to Denver and Kendall Gill of Illinois fifth to Charlotte--and five in the top 10. Not since Detroit used the No. 2 pick in 1981 for Isiah Thomas has a guard gone as high as Payton.

Payton, who grew up in Oakland, was thrilled to be staying on the West Coast. Jackson worried about the adjustment of playing at altitude, and Gill, hoping to go to the Clippers and be reunited with former Illini Ken Norman, appeared nothing short of disappointed.

“Unfortunately, I had to go to Charlotte,” he said. “At least it’s the only show in town.”

Nice way to endear yourself to the fans.

Derrick Coleman had a much better start after New Jersey grabbed him with the No. 1 overall pick, as expected.

“I just can’t describe the emotions I will feel,” said Coleman, who became college basketball’s all-time leading rebounder while at Syracuse. “I’ve dreamed of being the No. 1 pick, and to actually get there is indescribable.

“Playing in the New York area will make me more motivated. It was kind of like playing in a fishbowl in Syracuse.”

The Nets considered numerous trade offers and the selection of Scott, a premier scoring small forward, before deciding on Coleman. He could move right into the starting lineup, given the questionable status of power forward Roy Hinson after knee surgery, and complement center Sam Bowie, an offensive threat.

Other notable selections in the two-round draft:

--Three players from the University of Michigan went in the first round, Rumeal Robinson to Atlanta, Loy Vaught to the Clippers, and Mills. The Wolverines became the third team in NCAA history to accomplish that, after Indiana in 1976 and UCLA in ’79. They also sent Sean Higgins, 54th and last to San Antonio.

--Chicago used the 29th pick on Yugoslav Toni Kukoc, this year’s top European import. A forward who some say could play guard because of his shooting and ball-handling abilities, his talent is unquestioned. The risk is his two-year contract with a team in his home country, so the Bulls may have made more of a long-term investment.

“He’s a legitimate 6-10, left-handed and very quick,” Chicago General Manager Jerry Krause said. “He’s a talent worth waiting for. There could be the usual machinations of getting him over here.”

--Greg Foster, who attended UCLA before transferring to Texas El Paso, went 35th to the Washington Bullets. Atlanta followed that by taking Bruin Trevor Wilson, based largely on his defensive abilities.

--Derek Strong of Palisades High School and Xavier went 47th to Philadelphia. The Phoenix Suns used the next pick for Cedric Ceballos of Cal State Fullerton, a much lower placing than some team executives anticipated.

--The Detroit Pistons used the 26th selection on guard Lance Blanks from Texas. The two-time defending NBA champions had only one selection and have already traded all their choices in next year’s draft.

Players not picked become free agents.

NBA DRAFT: THE FIRST ROUND

No. Team Player Position College 1 New Jersey Derrick Coleman Forward Syracuse 2 Seattle Gary Payton Guard Oregon State 3 Denver Chris Jackson Guard Louisiana State 4 Orlando Dennis Scott Forward Georgia Tech 5 Charlotte Kendall Gill Guard Illinois 6 Minnesota Felton Spencer Center Louisville 7 Sacramento Lionel Simmons Forward La Salle 8 Clippers Bo Kimble Guard Loyola Marymount 9 Miami Willie Burton Forward Minnesota 10 Atlanta Rumeal Robinson Guard Michigan 11 Golden State Tyrone Hill Forward Xavier 12 Houston* Alec Kessler Center Georgia 13 Clippers Loy Vaught Forward Michigan 14 Sacramento Travis Mays Guard Texas 15 Miami* Dave Jamerson Guard Ohio 16 Milwaukee Terry Mills Center Michigan 17 New York Jerrod Mustaf Forward Maryland 18 Sacramento Duane Causwell Center Temple 19 Boston Dee Brown Guard Jacksonville 20 Minnesota Gerald Glass Guard Mississippi 21 Phoenix Jayson Williams Forward St. John’s 22 New Jersey Tate George Guard Connecticut 23 Sacramento Anthony Bonner Forward St. Louis 24 San Antonio Dwayne Schintzius Center Florida 25 Portland Alaa Abdelnaby Forward Duke 26 Detroit Lance Blanks Guard Texas 27 Lakers Elden Campbell Forward Clemson

* Miami traded Jamerson and Carl Herrera, a second-round pick from the

University of Houston, to the Houston Rockets for Kessler.

THE SECOND ROUND

No. Team Player Position College 28 Golden State Les Jepsen Center Iowa 29 Chicago Toni Kukoc Forward Yugoslavia 30 Miami* Carl Herrera Forward Houston 31. Phoenix Negele Knight Guard Dayton 32 Philadelphia Brian Oliver Guard Georgia Tech 33 Utah Walter Palmer Center Dartmouth 34 Golden State Kevin Pritchard Guard Kansas 35 Washington Greg Foster Center UTEP 36 Atlanta Trevor Wilson Forward UCLA 37 Washington A.J. English Guard Virginia Union 38 Seattle Jud Buechler Forward Arizona 39. Charlotte Steve Scheffler Forward Purdue 40 Sacramento Bimbo Coles Guard Virginia Tech 41 Atlanta Stephen Bardo Guard Illinois 42 Denver Marcus Liberty Forward Illinois 43 San Antonio Tony Massenburg Forwward Maryland 44 Milwaukee Steve Henson Guard Kansas St. 45 Indiana Antonio Davis Forward UTEP 46 Indiana Ken Williams Forward Elizabeth City St. 47 Philadelphia Derek Strong Forward Xavier 48 Phoenix Cedric Ceballos Forward CS Fullerton 49 Dallas Phil Henderson Guard Duke 50 Phoenix Milos Babic Center Tennessee Tech 51 Lakers Tony Smith Guard Marquette 52 Cleveland Stefano Rusconi Center Italy 53 Seattle Abdul Shamsid-Deen Center Providence 54 San Antonio Sean Higgins Forward Michigan

* Herrera was traded with Dave Jamerson from Miami to Houston for center Alec Kessler.

TRADES * Houston traded the rights to forward Alec Kessler to Miami for the rights to guard Dave Jamerson and forward Carl Herrera.

* Miami traded guard Rory Sparrow to Sacramento for the rights to guard Bimbo Coles.

* New Jersey acquired the rights to forward Jud Buechler from Seattle for consideration for New Jersey not selecting Dennis Scott with the first overall selection in the 1990 draft.

* Phoenix traded the rights to center Milos Babic to Cleveland for the rights to center Stefano Rusconi.