The Cleveland Cavaliers have been a decent NBA franchise for some time now, with the normal dips you expect, but when Ted Stepien owned the team from 1980-83, the Cavaliers made so many disastrous moves that the league ultimately put in a rule to restrict just how teams could trade draft picks. It became known as the Ted Stepien Rule, which is a hell of a legacy.
One of the most egregious trades Cleveland made may have actually happened shortly before Stepien took over, but whoever was responsible, it was a disaster: the Cavs executed a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers which sent Don Ford and a first-round pick in the 1980 draft to Cleveland for Butch Lee and a #1 pick in the 1982 draft.
Cleveland got a great tragedy with their selection of Chad Kinch with the 22nd pick, who spent one year in the league before spiraling into drug addiction and ultimately dying of HIV (reportedly, he had a difficult time dealing with his brother’s death in a house fire) while the Lakers got James Worthy.
Worthy proved to be an ideal pick to pair with Magic Johnson in the Showtime offense. He was one of the great running forwards of all time and proved an ideal fit with Johnson, Byron Scott and Michael Cooper, not to mention the aging but still unstoppable Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, at least in the half court.
As you’ll see here, Worthy’s speed and athleticism made him a very tough guy to defend. He contributed to three Lakers championships and was named to the NBA’s 50th and 75th Anniversary teams.
This highlight video is from the 1988 Finals where Worthy was named MVP.