Cleveland Cavaliers Regular Season Rosters

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1978-1979 Cleveland Cavaliers Regular Season Roster

Player Pos HT WT YOS Pre-Draft Team Draft Status Nationality
Jim Brewer PF 6-9 210 5 Minnesota 1973 Rnd 1 Pick 2 United States
Austin Carr G 6-4 200 7 Notre Dame 1971 Rnd 1 Pick 1 United States
Jim Chones FC 6-11 220 4 Marquette 1973 Rnd 2 Pick 13 United States
Harry Davis SF 6-7 220 0 Florida State 1978 Rnd 2 Pick 11 United States
Walt Frazier PG 6-4 200 11 Southern Illinois 1967 Rnd 1 Pick 5 United States
Terry Furlow SG 6-4 190 2 Michigan State 1976 Rnd 1 Pick 12 United States
Kenny Higgs PG 6-0 180 0 LSU 1978 Rnd 3 Pick 13 United States
John Lambert C 6-10 225 3 USC 1975 Rnd 1 Pick 15 United States
Butch Lee PG 6-0 185 0 Marquette 1978 Rnd 1 Pick 10 Puerto Rico / United States
Mike Mitchell F 6-7 215 0 Auburn 1978 Rnd 1 Pick 15 United States
Campy Russell F 6-8 215 4 Michigan 1974 Rnd 1 Pick 8 United States
Bingo Smith GF 6-5 195 9 Tulsa 1969 Rnd 1 Pick 6 United States
Elmore Smith C 7-0 250 7 Kentucky State 1971 Rnd 1 Pick 3 United States
Earl Tatum SG 6-5 185 2 Marquette 1976 Rnd 2 Pick 4 United States
Foots Walker PG 6-0 172 4 West Georgia 1974 Rnd 3 Pick 2 United States

1978-1979 Cleveland Depth Chart

  PG SG SF PF C
Starters F. Walker W. Frazier A. Carr C. Russell J. Chones
Rotation K. Higgs   B. Smith   J. Lambert
Rotation     M. Mitchell   E. Smith
Rotation     H. Davis    
Lim PT B. Lee        

1978-1979 Central Division Standings

RankTeamRecordGB
1San Antonio Spurs48-34-
2Houston Rockets47-351
3Atlanta Hawks46-362
4Detroit Pistons30-5218
5Cleveland Cavaliers30-5218
6New Orleans Jazz26-5622

1978-1979 Cleveland Awards & Honors

Player Award / Honor
Campy Russell Eastern All-Star Coaches Selection (1979)

1978-1979 Cleveland Season Stat Leaders

Player GP MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV
Campy Russell 74 38.6 21.9 6.8 4.7 1.3 0.3 3.5
Austin Carr 82 33.1 17.0 3.5 2.6 0.9 0.2 2.1
Jim Chones 82 34.8 13.4 10.3 2.2 0.6 1.2 2.3
Mike Mitchell 80 19.7 10.7 4.1 0.8 0.6 0.4 1.3
Bingo Smith 72 22.9 11.2 2.9 1.7 0.6 0.1 1.0
Terry Furlow 49 22.7 13.3 2.0 2.1 0.8 0.3 1.8
Foots Walker 55 31.9 10.1 3.6 5.8 2.4 0.3 2.3
Butch Lee 33 23.7 11.5 2.0 3.8 0.9 0.0 1.8
Kenny Higgs 68 15.4 5.0 1.5 2.1 1.0 0.2 0.7
John Lambert 70 14.7 4.7 4.1 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.9
Jim Brewer 55 23.7 4.6 6.7 1.3 0.9 1.0 1.4
Harry Davis 40 9.8 4.0 1.6 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.6
Elmore Smith 24 13.8 6.5 4.4 0.5 0.3 0.7 1.8
Walt Frazier 12 23.2 10.8 1.7 2.7 1.1 0.2 1.8

1978-1979 Cleveland Cavaliers Roster Composition

Selected via Draft

Austin Carr was selected as the #1 pick in the First Round of the 1971 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Austin Carr signed a multi-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on September 1, 1971.

Harry Davis was selected as the #11 pick in the Second Round of the 1978 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Harry Davis signed a multi-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on September 1, 1978.

Kenny Higgs was selected as the #13 pick in the 3 Round of the 1978 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kenny Higgs signed a multi-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on September 1, 1978.

John Lambert was selected as the #15 pick in the First Round of the 1975 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. John Lambert signed a multi-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on July 2, 1975.

Mike Mitchell was selected as the #15 pick in the First Round of the 1978 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Mike Mitchell signed a multi-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on August 4, 1978.

Campy Russell was selected as the #8 pick in the First Round of the 1974 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Campy Russell signed a multi-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on July 26, 1974. Campy Russell signed a multi-year extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 3, 1978.

Foots Walker was selected as the #2 pick in the 3 Round of the 1974 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Foots Walker signed a multi-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on June 20, 1974. Foots Walker re-signed to a multi-year contract as a free agent with the Cleveland Cavaliers on September 1, 1977.

Acquired via Draft Rights Trade

Draft Rights to Jim Chones, the #13 pick in the Second Round of the 1973 NBA Draft, were acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Los Angeles Lakers on May 17, 1974. Jim Chones signed a multi-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 20, 1974.

Acquired via Trade

Walt Frazier was acquired in a trade by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the New York Knicks on October 7, 1977.

Butch Lee was acquired in a trade by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Atlanta Hawks on January 31, 1979.

Elmore Smith was acquired in a trade by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Milwaukee Bucks on January 13, 1977.

Acquired via Expansion Draft

Bingo Smith was taken in the 1970 Expansion Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the San Diego Rockets on May 11, 1970.

1978-1979 Cleveland Cavaliers Front Office

Staff Member Position Start Season Previous Job
Nick Mileti Owner 1970-1971 N/A
Bill Fitch Head Coach, General Manager 1970-1971 N/A
Joe Tait Radio Broadcaster 1970-1971 N/A