Top Five Cavs Point Guards Of The Gund/Q Era
By Thomas Doty
Nov 19, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers mascot Moondog performs during a timeout at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
#3: Terrell Brandon
Heading into the 1991 NBA draft, point guard was certainly not the team’s top priority with their 11th overall pick. The Cavs of course had their franchise player at the position in Mark Price. However with the way the draft unfolded, Terrell Brandon slipped all the way down to their pick and after a stellar college career at Oregon, he was too good to pass up.
During his rookie year, Brandon averaged 7.4 points and 3.9 assists as he came off the bench for 20 minutes a game as Price’s backup. He fit the role well and the team as a whole benefited as they had their most successful season in franchise history up to that point. They were just a few less Michael Jordan moments away from reaching the finals as they lost 4-2 to the Chicago Bulls in the semifinals.
The following three seasons were relatively similar to his rookie year for Brandon. He was clearly getting better and becoming a quality player but he would continue to come off the bench for this team due to the great Mark Price. While acting as the backup, Brandon averaged 9.5 points and 4.2 assists in 22 minutes of action.
Just prior to the 1995 season, Price was traded away, which paved the way for Brandon to become the player he had potential to be.
In his first year as the starting point guard, Brandon didn’t disappoint individually as he was just shy of posting 20 points per game. However his regular season success did not carry over as his 4th seeded Cavs were swept by the New York Knicks.
The following year, 1996-1997, was even more disappointing for the team. Brandon pulled a team that wasn’t particularly talented to 42 wins averaging 19.5 points and 6.3 assists per game, but they fell just short of making the playoffs.
With decreasing win totals in 6 straight seasons, with the exception of one, management contemplated what their next move should be. Ultimately, the team opted to head in a different direction, trading Brandon, Tyrone Hill and a 1998 first round pick that brought Shawn Kemp to Cleveland.
Through his six years with the team, Brandon proved to be a very good point guard and was big part in their playoff successes during the early 90s. He was one of the more underrated players for the Cavs.
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