by The Gund Brothers had already owned the Richfield Coliseum and it seemed like a natural move for them to purchase the venue’s main revenue producer, the Cleveland Cavaliers. It didn’t take them long to shake things up by changing the team’s colors from wine and gold to orange and blue. They also replaced the swordsman mascot, to the word “Cavs” with the “V” as a net. The changes were small, but made a huge impact on the direction of the franchise for years to come. It was a new era in Cleveland basketball, one that would give everybody hope once again.
The Gunds were new to the world of professional basketball, so it didn’t take them long to get a NBA veteran in their front office to build the team. Wayne Embry was chosen by the Gund brothers to assemble a team that could make a quick turn around and once again be a playoff contender. Wayne Embry was born in Springfield, Ohio, in 1937. He attended and played basketball for Tecumseh High School, and from there went on to play basketball at Miami University of Ohio. He was drafted by the St. Louis Hawks in 1958, before being traded to the Cincinnati Royals. His pro career covered eleven years playing for the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks.
After doing a lot of behind the scenes front office work while playing in Milwaukee, he eventually became the first African American to be the General Manager of an NBA team after retirement from being a player. The Milwaukee Bucks made history by having Embry as their GM for seven seasons. After the seven year run in Milwaukee, Wayne decided that it was a time to take a break and stepped away from the game for a few years. In 1986, the Gund Brothers brought him to Cleveland Cavaliers headquarters to begin building a dynasty.
Wayne Embry’s first move was to bring in a coach to help guide the team. His choice was Lenny Wilkens, a man who would eventually go down as one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time. Wilkens was born on October 28, 1937, in Brooklyn, New York. Wilkens graduated from Providence College where he was a two time All American, even leading his team to its first appearance in the NIT tournament. His time playing at the school was so impressive that years later, in 1996, they decided to retire his number 14 jersey. At the time of his graduation, he was the second all time leading scorer in school history.
Lenny followed up an impressive college career with an even better professional stint in the NBA. He was drafted by the St. Louis Hawks in 1960 and went on to play eight seasons for them. In his rookie year with the Hawks, they made the Championship round, losing to the Boston Celtics. For the next seven years in Boston, they made the playoffs routinely, but never again returned to the championship. Perhaps his most impressive season was in 1967-1968, when he finished second to the great Wilt Chamberlain in the season MVP voting.
In a surprising move, the Hawks dealt Wilkens to the Seattle Supersonics in 1968 for Walt Hazzard. Wilkens was named head coach while still playing for the Seattle Supersonics prior to the 1969 – 1970 season. He was able to perform well even with the added pressure of coaching as he made the All Star team three more times during his days with Seattle. Not only did the team’s record improve under the direction of Wilkens, but he also managed to average 20 plus points, 6 plus rebounds and 8 assists during his playing days there. Those statistics would be great for any player, let alone one who was also focusing his time on coaching. He was traded from Seattle to Cleveland in 1972. He spent two seasons with the Cavaliers before finishing his career with the Portland Trailblazers. He retired a Trailblazer after the 1974 -1975 season and then went on to coach with them for the 1976 season.
When his playing career was finished, it would be considered one of the best of all time. Wilkens was voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1989 for his playing career. He was a nine time All Star, and its Most Valuable Player in the 1971 All Star game. He was masterful at both scoring and assists. He showed how he was an unselfish teammate by leading the league in assists for the 1969-1970 season. His number 19 was retired by the Seattle Supersonics and he was also voted to the All Time 50th Anniversary NBA team.
Wilkens enjoyed his time as a player/coach in both Seattle and Portland. It was only a matter of time after he retired from playing that he would once again roam the sidelines as a coach. He returned to Seattle, replacing Bob Hopkins, a quarter of the way through the 1977-1978 season. The team had only five victories at that point of the season and the pressure was placed on Wilkens to turn things around.
It didn’t take long for him to do so as the Supersonics began to dramatically improve. They won 11 of their first 12 games under his direction and never looked back. They used the momentum of the winning streak, along with the masterful coaching skills of Wilkens, all the way to the NBA championship series. The Supersonics eventually lost to the talented Washington Bullets in the finals. Despite the loss in the championship, it was a sign that Wilkens would have a long successful career as a coach.
The Supersonics returned to the championship series the very next season. They faced the Washington Bullets again, this time winning the series in a mere five games. The championship was the first and only in Seattle NBA history. Wilkens showed that he could manage a team of All Stars including Gus Williams, Jack Sikma and finals MVP, Dennis Johnson. He also proved he could handle bench talent with his use of reserves, Paul Silas and Fred Brown.
When Wilkens left the coaching position in Seattle, it didn’t take long for Wayne Embry to offer him a contract coaching the Cavaliers for the 1986-1987 season. This move proved the team was headed in the right direction, with the ownership, general manager and head coach all in place; it would be only a matter of time before winning ways would return to Cleveland.
Cavs players who played under Wilkens described him as one of the smartest and best coaches they ever played for. They respected him because he played the game of basketball and had a true understanding of what it took to win. As Larry Nance said, “Coach Wilkens understood how to communicate with his players without yelling at them and that is why he was so successful. We were a great group and it was because we had the best coach ever. As a person, he was even better because he cared about you and never yelled at you. He was stern and would let you know what you were doing wrong, but then after practice sit down with you and talk about family. He was that kind of coach and it made it feel like we were part of a family. If I ever coach, or my children decide to coach, I want them to be identical to that man because he was awesome.”
The Cavalier roster was decent, but also in need of improvements in certain areas. The pressure was on Embry to make the proper selections in the upcoming draft. It would also be crucial for him to lure free agents to play in Cleveland.
June 17, 1986 would be a day that changed the course of history of Cleveland basketball for many years to come. It was on that day that the Cavs drafted Brad Daugherty, a center out of The University of North Carolina. They acquired the first pick, which Embry used on Daugherty, in a trade the day before that sent Roy Hinson to the Philadelphia 76ers. It was one of the smartest moves in Embry’s career as general manager. Seven draft picks later, the Cavaliers selected Ron Harper out of Miami University of Ohio. Both players were highly touted college players.
They went on to select Johnny Newman, Kevin Henderson, Warren Martin, Ben Davis, Gilbert Wilburn and Ralph Daulton in the draft as well. Wayne Embry was not done dealing yet on that faithful day, as he would send a future 1989 second round draft pick to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for the draft rights of Mark Price, who was also a first round pick coming out of the Georgia Institute of Technology. With the acquisition of Price, the Cavaliers now had three first round talents on the roster.
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