4. A Forgotten Blunder
Even before Ted Stepien arrived on the scene, the Cavaliers made an ill-advised decision involving multiple future first-round selections. The ramifications of the deal kept getting worse and ended up aiding three other teams, while putting the Cavs in a bind for years to come.
On October 3, 1977, then-head coach Bill Fitch traded the Cavaliers’ first round selections in 1981 and 1983 to the Philadelphia 76ers for guard Terry Furlow, who ended up playing 102 games for Cleveland. He was then traded 16 months later to the Atlanta Hawks, and tragically, 16 months after that, was killed in an auto accident just outside of Cleveland while a member of the Utah Jazz.
With those two picks, the 76ers used one on forward Rodney McCray and traded the other to the Rockets for center Moses Malone, who led them to an NBA title in his first year. Houston then used that pick to draft Ralph Sampson. One final blow came with the player the Cavaliers received from the Hawks for Furlow. Butch Lee was later dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal that helped the Lakers draft forward James Worthy.
Next: No Local Love for the Cavs
