Embry Is the Big Man in Cavaliers’ Office : Ex-NBA Center Started Rebuilding Cleveland Team Before He Even Arrived

It was the day before the 1986 National Basketball Assn. draft, and Wayne Embry, who at 6 feet 8 inches is certainly big enough, was a man with a foot in two camps.

He was serving his final days as vice president and basketball consultant with the Indiana Pacers while the final details were being worked out on a move that would make him vice president and general manager of basketball operations of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Talk about challenges.

The timing of the move, so close to the draft, might have made for a delicate situation, but Embry says all parties approved and there was no conflict.

“The Pacers would be drafting fourth, and all along they wanted Chuck Person of Auburn,” Embry recalled.

The Cavaliers would be drafting eighth.

Then, on the eve of the draft, things suddenly changed.

“Cleveland executives called me and said that the Philadelphia 76ers were interested in trading the No. 1 draft pick for Roy Hinson. They wanted to know what I thought,” Embry said.

“Well, Hinson is a good 6-10 forward, but there are a lot of those. Every team needs a good center. I told them to certainly make the deal and take Brad Daugherty (of North Carolina) with the first pick.”

They did, and with the Cavaliers’ own top draft pick, the eighth in the first round, the team took Ron Harper, the gifted guard from Embry’s alma mater, Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

In the second round, at Embry’s urging, the Cavaliers drafted Johnny Newman, a 6-7 shooting guard from Richmond.

Also in the second round, as if to say they could make some of their own decisions, Cavalier management made another deal without consulting Embry, trading for Georgia Tech guard Mark Price.

And as something of a bonus, John (Hot Rod) Williams of Tulane, who had been drafted the previous year, was acquitted in a point-shaving trial in New Orleans and become eligible to sign a Cavalier contract.

Thus, almost overnight, a franchise that had struggled in the wasteland for years, had a solid foundation. Harper, Daugherty and Williams became starters and lead the team in scoring. If they finish the season as the team’s top scorers, they will be the first trio of rookies to do so since Maurice Stokes, Jack Twyman and Ed Fleming led the Rochester Royals in 1955-56.

If ever a team needed a boost, it was the Cavaliers, who will put their new look on display here tonight against the Lakers at the Forum. After years of short-sighted management under previous owner Ted Stepien, who traded away a bundle of first-round draft positions for marginal players and doomed the Cavaliers to years of struggle, the team found itself under new ownership. Cleveland natives George Gund III and Gordon Gund, who bought the team three years ago and promised to keep it in Northeastern Ohio, also set about rebuilding the club, vowing to be patient and look at the long haul.

While struggling and failing to make the playoffs last season, the Cavaliers dismissed the coach and then the general manager.

They began looking for a general manager who could manage, who could build a team into a contender. Among those who came highly recommended was the man who had:

--Been the first black top executive in the NBA.

--Kept the Milwaukee Bucks a perennial contender in the Midwest Division.

--Helped engineer one of the most famous trades in NBA history.

--Been serving, less than happily, as a vice president and basketball consultant with the Indiana Pacers.

Embry was the man they chose. He had played for 11 years in the NBA, most of those with the Cincinnati Royals where, as a 6-8, 250-pound center, he set bone-crushing picks for Oscar Robertson and was a fierce rebounder and decent scorer who played in five All-Star games. He then played two seasons for the Boston Celtics and picked up a championship ring in 1968. The following season, his last as a player, he went to Milwaukee in the expansion draft.

His hard work and leadership impressed the Milwaukee management, and Embry was called back to the team a year after retiring to work in the front office. A year later, he was named vice president and general manager of the Bucks.

“I was only 32 years old,” Embry said with an almost sheepish smile, his salt-and-pepper hair betraying the fact that he will be 50 next month. “I learned. I took some knocks. I talked to a lot of people.”

Embry took over a team that had won the NBA title in 1971 with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bob Dandridge and Robertson. Under the leadership of Embry and Coach Larry Costello, the Bucks won at least 59 games in each of the next three seasons. Then, in 1974-75, they slumped to a 38-44 record and Embry was faced with his first crisis: Abdul-Jabbar had become disenchanted with Milwaukee and asked to be traded. The center said he preferred New York, Washington or Los Angeles.

“I felt we were obliged to honor Kareem’s wishes,” Embry said. “He had done a lot for the Bucks and Milwaukee.

“But, as a general manager, I had to get something of value. New York was at the end of that great run with players like Willis Reed, Bill Bradley and Walt Frazier, and they didn’t have much to offer but older players. Washington was never really in the picture. But the Lakers, they had good young players and draft choices to offer.

“You know, someone should write a book about how that trade was put together. It was really something.”

In less than book length, it happened like this:

When the Bucks and Lakers realized they had a chance to deal, they met halfway. Literally. Representatives from both teams flew to Denver, where a long afternoon and evening of haggling ensued.

They were close to agreement. The Bucks would send Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Wesley to the Lakers for center Elmore Smith, guards Brian Winters and Junior Bridgeman, a first-round draft pick, and--the sticking point--a fourth player. The Lakers offered veteran Gail Goodrich, but Milwaukee wanted forward Dave Meyers, another first-round Laker pick.

As it came time to catch the last flights out of Denver, one of the Laker executives changed his ticket at the last moment, flew back to Milwaukee with Embry, and the deal was made the next day. Meyers would go to the Bucks.

Thus was born one of the most notable trades in NBA history. It made contenders out of both the Lakers and Bucks for many years.

It was that kind of leadership and vision that the new Cavalier owners sought when they hired Embry.

“I wouldn’t have taken the job if I knew they couldn’t be patient,” Embry said. “I want to build a championship team.

“To the general manager, the game is a business. I am in the business of building assets, primarily through the draft. I have to make good business decisions. You have to make a profit, you have to have the resources to take the next step upward. But, it’s a game for the players, and I can’t interfere with their game.

“And a good general manager has to support his coach. He’s the one who is out there on the short string, taking criticism from the media and the fans.

“And when you are building a young team, your coach must be a good teacher. (Cavalier Coach) Lenny Wilkens is just that. He has won a championship (at Seattle). He doesn’t have anything to prove.”

Embry, who says it takes athletic ability to win games and character to win championships, spoke of how his young club might reach the higher levels of the NBA.

“I think you have to motivate people by establishing goals--common goals for the team and management, and that, for us, is winning a championship.

“I learned a lot about handling people from Red Auerbach. On his Celtic teams, the 12th guy was made to feel as important as the star. Everyone had a role. He made sure you felt a part of the team. After a game, he came around and said something to each player. That’s why his players are so loyal after they retire.

“And we want our young players to develop confidence, to find their own comfort level. That’s why we have had so much trouble winning on the road. They have to learn to deal with adversity. To overcome it. That comes with experience.

“And it’s kind of shocking to go from the college game to having to face a Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan every night.”

The Cavaliers are learning their lessons, and some have been difficult: They recently went through a 15-game road losing streak. Yet, they will almost certainly improve on last season’s 29-53 record.

Harper is averaging 23 points a game and, with Indiana’s Person, is a leading candidate for rookie of the year. Williams is leading the team in rebounding and averaging 14.5 points a game. Daugherty is averaging 14.8 and leading all NBA centers in assists. “We wish he would shoot more,” Embry says. Price has come off the bench to spark several victories.

Embry believes his team is on the road to achievement, but it probably will not make the playoffs this season. Still, with a chance at the No. 1 draft choice in the lottery, their next choice also figures to be a valuable one. Another chance for Embry to build an asset.

Tonight, against the Lakers, he will get a measure of how far his team has yet to go.