The 1998–99 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 29th season for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the National Basketball Association. Due to a lockout, the regular season began on February 5, 1999, and was cut from 82 games to 50.
Season summary
Off-season During the off-season, the Cavaliers re-signed free agent Johnny Newman, who previously played for the team during the 1986–87 season.
Regular season The Cavaliers lost their first three games of the regular season, but then posted a five-game winning streak afterwards. However, second-year star Zydrunas Ilgauskas suffered a foot injury after only just five games, and was out for the remainder of the season, averaging 15.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. At mid-season, the team traded Vitaly Potapenko to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Andrew DeClercq, and signed free agent Corie Blount, who was previously released by the Los Angeles Lakers. With a 21–18 record as of April 16, 1999, the Cavaliers struggled posting a seven-game losing streak afterwards, 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.
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 and 3.8 assists 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.
Kemp finished in eleventh place in Most Valuable Player voting. However, Kemp was a shell of his former self as he reported to practice weighing 315 lbs; according to the Cavaliers' General Manager Wayne Embry, the league listed him at 280 lbs. The Cavaliers finished 25th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 352,992 at the Gund Arena during the regular season, which was the fifth-lowest in the league.
Aftermath Following the season, head coach Mike Fratello was fired after six seasons with the Cavaliers, while Anderson and Newman were both traded to the Los Angeles Clippers; Newman would never play for the Clippers as the team traded him back to his former team, the New Jersey Nets, and Blount signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Suns.
Offseason
Free agents
Trades
Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club team 2 48 Ryan Stack Center South Carolina 1st round pick (#19) traded to Milwaukee in Sherman Douglas deal.BUCKS: Significant Transactions in Bucks History Used to draft Pat Garrity.
Roster
Regular season
Season standings
Game log
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 1 || February 5, 1999 || @ Atlanta | L 83–100
| Georgia Dome19,806 | 0–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 2 || February 6, 1999 || @ Boston | L 73–77
| FleetCenter18,173 | 0–2
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 13 || March 2, 1999 || Boston | W 116–99
| Gund Arena12,906 | 6–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 24 || March 23, 1999 || Boston | W 113–86
| Gund Arena15,810 | 13–11
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 35 || April 10, 1999 || Atlanta | W 81–67
| Gund Arena13,859 | 18–17 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 36 || April 12, 1999 || @ Boston | L 89–103
| FleetCenter15,622 | 18–18
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 48 || May 2, 1999 || Atlanta | W 65–76
| Gund Arena12,690 | 22–26
Player stats
Regular season PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPGShawn Kemp424235.148.250.078.99.22.41.11.120.5Zydrunas Ilgauskas5534.250.90.060.08.80.80.81.415.2Wesley Person454229.845.337.560.43.21.80.80.411.2Derek Anderson381325.739.830.483.62.93.81.30.110.8Brevin Knight393830.442.50.074.53.47.71.80.29.6Cedric Henderson504830.341.716.781.33.92.31.20.59.1Andrew DeClercq333125.650.20.067.95.80.61.10.69.0Vitaly Potapenko171227.543.70.067.35.50.90.60.98.4Danny Ferry501021.247.639.287.92.01.10.50.27.0Johnny Newman50219.042.237.781.01.50.80.60.26.1Mitchell Butler31113.548.237.971.91.40.70.50.15.4Bob Sura50616.833.320.063.12.03.00.90.34.3Corie Blount20018.434.30.052.45.30.50.90.63.4Ryan Stack18011.137.80.095.01.90.30.10.62.6Earl Boykins17010.034.515.466.70.81.60.30.02.6Antonio Lang1006.566.70.055.61.60.10.20.11.3Litterial Green102.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0
Player statistics citation:
Awards and records
Awards
Records
Milestones
All-Star
Transactions
Trades
Free agents
Development League
References
Cleveland Cavaliers on Basketball Reference