15 worst free agent signings in Cavaliers history

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Mark Price, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images /

Worst Cavaliers free agent signings No. 9: Scooter McCray, 1986

There is a rhythm to most free-agent signings. Players that have a good season often parlay that into a solid contract by a team that buys into that player’s “growth” instead of their hot season. Another group are those players with a track record of success who are coming off of an injury or bad season, the classic “buy-low” candidates. Either of these groups could result in successful signings, or they could result in disappointments. Some of both fill this list.

What is so unusual about the saga of Scooter McCray is that he doesn’t fall into either category. The 6’9″ power forward was drafted 36th overall in the 1983 NBA Draft, and he played 53 nondescript games for the Seattle SuperSonics. He averaged 2.7 points per game, shot just 40.5 percent from the field, and had nearly as many turnovers (44) as he did assists (51).

The following season McCrary couldn’t even find an NBA team willing to sign him, instead going to play in France. Yet inexplicably, the Cavs decided to sign him that next offseason, in 1986, to bolster the bench for a team on the rise.

What happened when the Cavs handed a contract to a player who had been terrible in the NBA? He was terrible in Cleveland! He played in 24 games, including two inexplicable starts, averaging 3.3 points per game. He was waived by February and never again saw another NBA minute.