The NBA / Chris Baker : Cavaliers Have New Faces, New Attitude--and Winning Record

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a new look this season.

They have a new general manager, a new coach, two new assistant coaches, five new players and a new starting lineup. Cleveland’s theme song for the 1986-87 season should be “New Attitude.”

The Cavaliers, who have won three of their first five games, are over .500 for the first time since 1978.

The changes began last June.

First, 6-foot 11-inch forward John (Hot Rod) Williams was cleared of charges in the point-shaving scandal at Tulane, paving the way for him to play for the Cavaliers, who drafted him in 1985. Williams signed a three-year, $675,000 contract June. 16.

The next day, Cleveland sent power forward Roy Hinson and cash to the Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 1 pick in the draft.

The Cavaliers then chose 7-foot center Brad Daugherty of North Carolina. Daugherty signed a six-year, $5.67-million contract.

Cleveland then took guard Ron Harper from Miami of Ohio with the eighth pick in the draft.

Later that week, the Cavaliers hired Wayne Embry as general manager. Embry held the same post with the Milwaukee Bucks for six seasons.

Embry persuaded Lenny Wilkens to return to coaching. Wilkens retired from coaching to become general manager of the Seattle SuperSonics at the end of the 1985 season.

Wilkens hired former Milwaukee Buck star Brian Winters and Dick Helm as assistant coaches. Helm had been Wilkens’ assistant in Seattle in 1984-85.

“I wanted to get back into coaching,” Wilkens said. “I enjoyed the one year I was GM, but I preferred being a coach. It really wasn’t what I wanted to do.

Wilkens has revamped the lineup, inserting four new players, three of them rookies.

Harper has replaced holdout World B. Free at off-guard, Daugherty has taken over for enigmatic center Mel Turpin, Williams is starting at small forward, and Mark West, a surprise in camp, is starting at power forward.

Harper missed most of the exhibition season because of a contract dispute but has come on strong. He scored 25 points in the Cavaliers’ season-opening 113-106 win over the Washington Bullets and even dunked over 7-7 center Manute Bol.

Harper had 29 points in a 115-114 win over the Golden State Warriors last Friday, and he scored a game-high 22 points in the Cavaliers’ 100-93 win over the Clippers last Saturday.

Williams has started at small forward in all five games this season and has scored in double figures in four of them. He had 22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot in his pro debut, against the Bullets.

“He’s going to be a great pro player,” Wilkens said of Williams. “I’m just glad he’s able to start playing basketball and get on with the rest of his life.

“I think what he went through (the trial on point shaving charges) does one of two things. It either makes you a stronger person or you go the other way.

“He’s a guy who makes contributions in more than one area. He’s been too unselfish at times. I feel as time goes on, he’s going to develop into an outstanding player.”

Williams said: “I’m just trying to get on with the rest of my life and forget what happened to me. The guys have been real good about it.”

Daugherty leads the team in rebounding. He had 13 rebounds in his NBA debut and 15 more in his second game.

“Daugherty is going to be a real fine player,” Wilkens said “He’s a guy that’s going going to be steady and he’ll be a leader, too. We’re really happy with our younger players.”

The rap against Daugherty when he was in college was that he might not be tough enough to withstand the rigors of the NBA. In fact, when Daugherty was drafted, fans monitoring the draft at the Felt Forum in Madison Square Garden chanted, “Soft! Soft! Soft!”

Said Daugherty: “It hurts to have that stigma. But I know that when Larry Bird came into the league they said he couldn’t run or jump.

“There’s nothing I can say to that because it really doesn’t matter. But I think I kind of shut some people up with my first couple of games.

“It’s been a lot of fun. The competition is on another level. Physically, it’s not that bad. But mentally, the NBA is a little more challenging.”

West, 6-10 and beginning his fourth season, has been moved from center to power forward.

West has started all five games this season. He slammed home the winning basket with four seconds left against Golden State Friday night. He had the best NBA game of his career in the Cavaliers’ home opener, with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots in 36 minutes.

The Cavaliers’ two other new faces are rookie guard Mark Price and rookie swing man Johnny Newman.

Price, a second-round draft pick from Georgia Tech, was acquired from Dallas. Newman was drafted in the second round from Richmond.

They’re not going to be kicking sand in Manute Bol’s face this season.

Ever seen those before and after pictures of weightlifters?

Bol used to look like the before picture.

He still doesn’t look like the after , but Bol did gain some weight during the off-season. Listed at 200 pounds last season, he began this season at 227.

Bol worked with trainer Mackie Shilstone, who also works with heavyweight boxing champion Michael Spinks. Shilstone designed a weightlifting program and combined it with a high-calorie diet.

“He ate so many Cornish game hens that I thought he was going to fly away,” Shilstone said of Bol.

How did Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls stay in shape during the off-season?

Jordan couldn’t run because doctors didn’t want him jarring the foot he had broken last season. So he played golf.

“I averaged 18 holes a day,” Jordan told Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Verdi. “Did I walk? Nope. Carts. Played basketball only a couple of times because of the foot.”

Jordan said he might take up golf after he quits playing basketball at 32.

“Maybe I can get real good at that,” he said. “Practice hard and play for five years till I’m 37, then join the Senior Tour at 50.

“Davis Love III, a pro now, started me on it at North Carolina the year I went hardship. Just asked me to go out and play with him one day.

“I whiffed a couple of times, but I hit some good shots, and you know how golf is. Only need a couple of those to bring you back. I’ve been coming back ever since. I can hit it pretty far. If I could only hit it straight consistently.”