1998–99 Cleveland Cavaliers season

1998–99 Cleveland Cavaliers season
Head coachMike Fratello
ArenaGund Arena
Results
Record22–28 (.440)
PlaceDivision: 7th (Central)
Conference: 11th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
TelevisionFox Sports Ohio · WUAB
RadioWTAM

The 1998–99 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 29th season for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the National Basketball Association.[1] Due to a lockout, the regular season began on February 5, 1999, and was cut from 82 games to 50.[2]

During the off-season, the Cavaliers re-signed free agent Johnny Newman, who previously played for the team during the 1986–87 season.[3][4] However, after five games into the regular season, second-year star Zydrunas Ilgauskas was out with a season-ending foot injury, averaging 15.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.[5][6][7]

At mid-season, the team traded Vitaly Potapenko to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Andrew DeClercq,[8][9][10] and signed free agent Corie Blount, who was previously released by the Los Angeles Lakers.[11] With a 21–18 record in mid April, the Cavaliers struggled as they posted a 7-game losing streak, and lost ten of their final eleven games of the season, finishing in seventh place in the Central Division with a 22–28 record, and missing the NBA playoffs.[12]

Shawn Kemp averaged 20.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, while Wesley Person averaged 11.2 points per game and led the Cavaliers with 75 three-point field goals, and second-year guard Derek Anderson provided the team with 10.8 points per game off the bench. In addition, second-year guard Brevin Knight contributed 9.6 points, 7.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game, while second-year forward Cedric Henderson provided with 9.1 points per game, and DeClercq averaged 9.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in 33 games after the trade. Off the bench, Danny Ferry provided with 7.0 points per game, while Newman contributed 6.1 points per game, and Bob Sura averaged 4.3 points and 3.0 assists per game, but only shot .333 in field-goal percentage.[13]

Kemp also finished in eleventh place in Most Valuable Player voting.[14] However, Kemp was a shell of his former self as he reported to practice, weighing 315 lbs, and according to the team's General Manager Wayne Embry, the league listed him at 280.[15][16][17]

Following the season, head coach Mike Fratello was fired after spending six seasons with the Cavaliers,[18][19][20] while Anderson and Newman were both traded to the Los Angeles Clippers,[21][22][23] who then dealt Newman back to the New Jersey Nets,[24][25][26] and Blount signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Suns.[27]

Offseason

Free agents

Trades

Draft picks

Main article: 1998 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club team
2 48 Ryan Stack Center  United States South Carolina

Roster

1998–99 Cleveland Cavaliers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
G 23 Derek Anderson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1974–07–18 Kentucky
F 44 Corie Blount 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1969–01–04 Cincinnati
G 5 Earl Boykins 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) 133 lb (60 kg) 1976–06–02 Eastern Michigan
G 6 Mitchell Butler 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1970–12–15 UCLA
C 55 Andrew DeClercq 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1973–02–01 Florida
F/C 35 Danny Ferry 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1966–10–17 Duke
F 45 Cedric Henderson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1975–03–11 Memphis
C 11 Zydrunas Ilgauskas 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 238 lb (108 kg) 1975–06–05 Lithuania
F/C 4 Shawn Kemp 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1969–11–26 Trinity Valley CC
G 12 Brevin Knight 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1975–11–08 Stanford
F 20 Johnny Newman 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1963–11–28 Richmond
G 1 Wesley Person 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1971–03–28 Auburn
F/C 10 Ryan Stack 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1975–07–24 South Carolina
G 3 Bob Sura 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1973–03–25 Florida State
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster
Updated: April 2, 1999

Regular season

Season standings

Central DivisionWLPCTGBHomeRoadDivGP
y-Indiana Pacers3317.660–18‍–‍715‍–‍1015–750
x-Atlanta Hawks3119.6202.016‍–‍915‍–‍1015–850
x-Detroit Pistons2921.5804.017‍–‍812‍–‍1313–850
x-Milwaukee Bucks2822.5605.017‍–‍811‍–‍1413–1150
Charlotte Hornets2624.5207.016‍–‍910‍–‍1512–1050
Toronto Raptors2327.46010.014‍–‍119‍–‍169–1450
Cleveland Cavaliers2228.44011.015‍–‍107‍–‍189–1350
Chicago Bulls1337.26020.08‍–‍175‍–‍204–1950
Eastern Conference
#TeamWLPCTGBGP
1c-Miami Heat *3317.660–50
2y-Indiana Pacers *3317.660–50
3x-Orlando Magic3317.660–50
4x-Atlanta Hawks3119.6202.050
5x-Detroit Pistons2921.5804.050
6x-Philadelphia 76ers2822.5605.050
7x-Milwaukee Bucks2822.5605.050
8x-New York Knicks2723.5406.050
9Charlotte Hornets2624.5207.050
10Toronto Raptors2327.46010.050
11Cleveland Cavaliers2228.44011.050
12Boston Celtics1931.38014.050
13Washington Wizards1832.36015.050
14New Jersey Nets1634.32017.050
15Chicago Bulls1337.26020.050

Game log

1998–99 game log
Total: 22–28 (Home: 15–10; Road: 7–18)
February: 5–6 (home: 4–3; road: 1–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 February 5, 1999 @ Atlanta L 83–100 Georgia Dome
19,806 		0–1
2 February 6, 1999 @ Boston L 73–77 FleetCenter
18,173 		0–2
March: 9–8 (home: 6–2; road: 3–6)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
13 March 2, 1999 Boston W 116–99 Gund Arena
12,906 		6–7
24 March 23, 1999 Boston W 113–86 Gund Arena
15,810 		13–11
April: 8–11 (home: 5–4; road: 3–7)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
35 April 10, 1999 Atlanta W 81–67 Gund Arena
13,859 		18–17
36 April 12, 1999 @ Boston L 89–103 FleetCenter
15,622 		18–18
May: 0–3 (home: 0–1; road: 0–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
48 May 2, 1999 Atlanta W 65–76 Gund Arena
12,690 		22–26
1998–99 schedule

Player stats

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Regular season

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Shawn Kemp 42 42 35.1 48.2 50.0 78.9 9.2 2.4 1.1 1.1 20.5
Zydrunas Ilgauskas 5 5 34.2 50.9 0.0 60.0 8.8 0.8 0.8 1.4 15.2
Wesley Person 45 42 29.8 45.3 37.5 60.4 3.2 1.8 0.8 0.4 11.2
Derek Anderson 38 13 25.7 39.8 30.4 83.6 2.9 3.8 1.3 0.1 10.8
Brevin Knight 39 38 30.4 42.5 0.0 74.5 3.4 7.7 1.8 0.2 9.6
Cedric Henderson 50 48 30.3 41.7 16.7 81.3 3.9 2.3 1.2 0.5 9.1
Andrew DeClercq 33 31 25.6 50.2 0.0 67.9 5.8 0.6 1.1 0.6 9.0
Vitaly Potapenko 17 12 27.5 43.7 0.0 67.3 5.5 0.9 0.6 0.9 8.4
Danny Ferry 50 10 21.2 47.6 39.2 87.9 2.0 1.1 0.5 0.2 7.0
Johnny Newman 50 2 19.0 42.2 37.7 81.0 1.5 0.8 0.6 0.2 6.1
Mitchell Butler 31 1 13.5 48.2 37.9 71.9 1.4 0.7 0.5 0.1 5.4
Bob Sura 50 6 16.8 33.3 20.0 63.1 2.0 3.0 0.9 0.3 4.3
Corie Blount 20 0 18.4 34.3 0.0 52.4 5.3 0.5 0.9 0.6 3.4
Ryan Stack 18 0 11.1 37.8 0.0 95.0 1.9 0.3 0.1 0.6 2.6
Earl Boykins 17 0 10.0 34.5 15.4 66.7 0.8 1.6 0.3 0.0 2.6
Antonio Lang 10 0 6.5 66.7 0.0 55.6 1.6 0.1 0.2 0.1 1.3
Litterial Green 1 0 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Player statistics citation:[13]

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Milestones

All-Star

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Development League

References

  1. ^ 1998-99 Cleveland Cavaliers
  2. ^ "NBA: Let The Games Begin!". CBS News. CBS News.com Staff. January 6, 1999. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  3. ^ "Cavaliers Sign Free Agent Newman". Associated Press. January 24, 1999. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  4. ^ Wise, Mike (February 4, 1999). "PRO BASKETBALL; A Scrum for the Title". The New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  5. ^ "Cavaliers Thwart Magic". The Ledger. February 16, 1999. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  6. ^ Roberts, Selena (February 19, 1999). "PRO BASKETBALL; Cavaliers Run Past and Over Knicks". The New York Times. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  7. ^ Broussard, Chris (February 21, 1999). "PRO BASKETBALL; Cavs' Kemp Throws His Weight Around". The New York Times. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  8. ^ "Cavs Trade Potapenko to Celtics". CBS News. Associated Press. March 11, 1999. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  9. ^ "Marbury Heads Home". Deseret News. March 12, 1999. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  10. ^ Greenberg, Alan (March 17, 1999). "His Strength Is His Power". Hartford Courant. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  11. ^ "Dallas Wins as A.C. Reaches Milestone". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. March 14, 1999. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  12. ^ "1998–99 Cleveland Cavaliers Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  13. ^ a b "1998–99 Cleveland Cavaliers Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  14. ^ "1998–99 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  15. ^ Wise, Mike (February 7, 1999). "PRO BASKETBALL; Some Scales Tipping Over as N.B.A. Season Tips Off". The New York Times. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  16. ^ Smith, Sam (December 8, 1999). "Battle of the Bulge Detracts from Kemp's Performance". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  17. ^ Manfred, Tom (October 17, 2011). "The Last Time There Was a Lockout, One NBA Star Packed on 35 Pounds". Business Insider. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  18. ^ "Cavs' Front Office Shakeup". CBS News. Associated Press. June 1, 1999. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  19. ^ "N.B.A.: ROUNDUP -- CLEVELAND; Cavs Fire Fratello; Embry Resigns". The New York Times. Associated Press. June 2, 1999. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  20. ^ "Cavaliers Fire Fratello as Part of a Shake-Up". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 2, 1999. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  21. ^ "Cavs Send Anderson to Clips". CBS News. Associated Press. August 4, 1999. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  22. ^ "Clippers Trade Murray for Anderson". Associated Press News. August 4, 1999. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  23. ^ White, Lonnie (August 9, 1999). "Clippers Deal the Lakers a Blow". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  24. ^ "Nets and Clippers Talk Trade". The New York Times. September 16, 1999. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  25. ^ "Nets Trade Murdock to Clips". CBS News. Associated Press. September 23, 1999. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  26. ^ White, Lonnie (September 24, 1999). "Another Pointed Day for Clippers: Pro Basketball: They Get Murdock in Trade with Nets, But Hear from Falk That Taylor Will Leave Team After the Season". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  27. ^ "Studies Raise Issue of Head Blows' Effects on Teens". Los Angeles Times. September 9, 1999. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  28. ^ BUCKS: Significant Transactions in Bucks History
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