CLEVELAND, Ohio - Before the Browns were known for taking a “big swing and a miss,” the Cavs had their own moment of franchise-altering ambition that still echoes through team history.
The acquisition of Shawn Kemp — once one of the NBA’s most electrifying talents — stands as a reminder of how superstar gambles can go wrong.
With Kemp back in the news after pleading guilty to an assault charge in Washington state, Terry Pluto spent a few minutes on the latest Terry’s Talkin’ podcast revisiting Kemp’s time in Cleveland.
The context behind the move reveals a franchise eager to break through a competitive ceiling.
As Pluto explained: “This was one. They were frustrated with the team with Mark Price and Larry Nance and Daugherty getting stuck in the playoffs, so they decided to make a big swing... And their big swing before the Browns made big swings was with Shawn Kemp.”
What the Cavaliers failed to recognize was that the high-flying “Reign Man” they thought they were acquiring was already in decline.
“What they didn’t realize in Seattle is Kemp’s personal problems were beginning to mount,” Pluto continued. “He comes in, he’s huge. I mean, he’s really put on a lot of weight. And they gave him this big multi-year contract before they even got to know him.”
What followed was one of the most memorable — and awkward — moments in franchise history, when owner Gordon Gund attempted an unusual demonstration to illustrate Kemp’s weight problem.
Pluto recounted: “He brings in Kemp and he has Kemp with like two 15-pound weights, one in each hand. And asks Kemp to walk around the office. He does. He walks around.
“Then he says, ‘Put them down now walk around again. Which is easier?’ And Gund said because he was weighing like 280 at that point or something, he goes, ‘You lose 30 pounds, Sean, it would be good for you.’ ”
Pluto said that despite Kemp’s on-court disappointments, his personal demeanor was always professional.
“On a personal level, Kemp to talk to was polite. I thought he was thoughtful. I liked talking to him,” Pluto said.
Kemp spent his first eight seasons with Seattle from 1989-97, and was a five-time All-Star.
The Cavs acquired him in September 1997, and he played three seasons, making the 1998 All-Star Game.
The Cavaliers eventually traded Kemp to Portland in a move that marked the beginning of a rebuilding phase — one that ultimately led to the LeBron James era. Kemp played two seasons in Portland and one with the Orlando Magic in 2003 before retiring from the NBA.
Kemp, 55, will be sentenced on Aug. 22. The standard sentencing range for second-degree assault in Washington is three years and nine months with one year of community custody (another term for parole). The maximum sentence is 10 years confinement and a fine up to $20,000.
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