Cleveland Cavaliers: 10 greatest guards in franchise history
player. 156. . Combo Guard. Cleveland Cavaliers. Ron Harper. 8
The Ron Harper for (essentially) Danny Ferry trade is one of the biggest trade blunders in NBA history, and it very rarely is talked about. If the Cavaliers held onto Harper, he would surely be higher on this list, his short history with the franchise is the only thing keeping him this low.
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The Cavaliers had one of the greatest first-rounds of an NBA draft ever in 1986. The Cavs selected University of North Carolina big-man Brad Daugherty with the first pick in 1986, but he wasn’t the best rookie on the Cavs roster that season.
Harper was selected with the eighth pick in that same draft by the Cavaliers and was the runner up for the rookie of the year in the 1986-87 season, finishing behind Chuck Person.
His rookie year was one of the greatest ever by a Cavalier. According to Basketball-Reference Harper had per-game averages of 22.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists.
Harper played three full seasons in Cleveland before being dealt seven games into his fourth season.
If the Cavaliers had held onto Harper and built on the core they had in place with him, Daugherty, Price, and Nance, they could have threatened the Bulls in the early 1990s.
Over the course of his entire Cavs tenure, per Basketball-Reference Harper held per-game averages of 19.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.8 assists.
It should be noted that Danny Ferry didn’t fare quite as well as a Cavalier. Per Basketball-Reference, his per-game averages over the course of his Cavaliers tenure are 7.8 points and 3 rebounds.