Wilkens enjoyed his time as a player and 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 1977–78 season. The team had only five victories at that point in the season, and the pressure was placed on Wilkens to turn things around. It didn’t take long for him to do so, because 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, to take them 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 and 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 such talents as 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 his coaching position in Seattle, it didn’t take long for Wayne Embry to offer him a contract coaching the Cavaliers for the 1986–87 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.
Cavaliers 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 us feel like we were part of a family. If I ever coach, or if 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 the day that changed the course of history for Cleveland basketball for many years to come. It was on that day that the Cavaliers drafted Brad Daugherty, a center out of the University of North Carolina. Cleveland 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 picks later, the Cavaliers selected Ron Harper out of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Both players were highly touted college players. The Cavaliers then went on to select Johnny Newman, Kevin Henderson, Warren Martin, Ben Davis, Gilbert Wilburn, and Ralph Dalton in the draft as well. Embry was not done dealing yet on that fateful day, though: 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 their roster.
Mark Price
Born in Black Mountain, North Carolina, in 1965, Brad Daugherty grew into a seven-foot frame that was destined for the hardwood. Daugherty excelled at basketball while playing at Charles D. Owen High School. With Daugherty’s leadership on the court, his high school team reached the 1982 State Finals before losing in the championship game.
Daugherty was a top recruit later that year for Dean Smith and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels, and he would be remembered as one of the few players to play for a Hall of Fame coach in both college and then the pros. Many considered Daugherty to be one of the best centers to ever play for UNC. He was a two-time All-ACC first-team selection and a first-team All-American in his senior season, during which he averaged more than 20 points a game. Based on his impressive college basketball career, Daugherty was later inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.
Joining Daugherty on the Cavaliers that year was fellow first-round draft pick Ron Harper, who had been a collegiate All-Star and drew many comparisons to Julius Erving for his high-flying style. Harper was a two-time MAC player of the year and made the NCAA All-American second team in his senior season. He immediately showed that Embry’s faith in him was warranted, averaging more than 22 points a game in his rookie season. Harper was voted second for the Rookie of the Year to Indiana Pacer Chuck Person.
Mark Price was the player in charge of keeping things running smoothly. A fellow first-round pick of the Dallas Mavericks, he was the perfect man to lead the charge. Price had grown up in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, where he attended Enid High School. After graduation, he went to play college basketball at Georgia Tech and, with hard work and court savvy, he managed to establish himself as the leader of the team. He was a two-time All-American and the recipient of All-ACC honors for all four years of his college career. In the 1984–85 ACC championship game, he led his team to a win over UNC and his future teammate, Brad Daugherty. He was also named ACC player of the year. Price’s jersey number at Georgia Tech was retired in acknowledgment of his great college career.
Joining forces with the top three draft picks was Cavaliers 1985 draft pick John “Hot Rod” Williams. Legal problems forced him to sit out his rookie season after being selected by Cleveland in the draft. He’d had a solid career at Tulane University and under Embry, and the Cavaliers were willing to look past his somewhat checkered past and place him full into the fold. Former teammate Larry Nance disclosed how it was to play with “Hot Rod”: “He was very underrated as one of the best low-post defensive players that have ever been around. He was a great defensive guy and also a great friend. Once you’re his friend, he will do anything in the world for you. We became great friends and we still talk today.”
Midway through the 1986–87 season, Embry decided to sign free agent guard Craig Ehlo. Ehlo reflected on growing up learning the game:
There was only one game a week on television when I was growing up, so I didn’t really have any one athlete I molded myself after. The most influential person in my life who helped me with basketball was my high school coach Joe Mahaga at Monterey. He was influential in teaching me the fundamentals of the game. He taught us a continuity-type offense, where we would pass the ball about six times before we got anything to look at shot wise. I was blessed in that area because he was determined to teach us the strict fundamentals and the teamwork part of the game, which helped me develop as a player. I wasn’t a very big kid in high school at 6-foot 4-inches tall, so I had to find ways to perform well with using my size against larger opponents. My junior college coach, Ron Mayberry, was also very influential in helping me develop every aspect of my game. I was built to be a swing-type player because I could handle the ball and shoot the ball well at my size.
Ehlo attended Odessa College and Washington State after that. He reflected on that time in his life and his basketball career:
My high school team made it to the regional championships in Texas, and I was lucky enough to lead my team in scoring. However, I think my size may have deterred any school from recruiting me. I didn’t have a lot of offers out of high school, even though my team was successful. I did have a few accolades such as being All-State and things like that. I just chose junior college because it was a better avenue for me and close to my home in Lubbock, Texas. I went down there for two years and that was a big part of my life because I was able to put on some more weight. It allowed me to play more and get better as I played 36 games my freshman year and 31 my sophomore year. I was able to average about 24 points a game my sophomore year with 6 rebounds a game and 7 assists. I think that is what caught the attention of several schools.