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Former Cavalier Lonnie Shelton Passes Away

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Lonnie Shelton played three years for the Cavaliers as an enforcer. When Lonnie came off the bench you knew there would be a body on the floor within minutes as he was a master at throwing NBA versions of hockey checks.

He was a starter with the Seattle for their 1979 Championship Team under Lenny Wilkins (the last title without a superstar until the 2004 Pistons). A good defensive player who was once voted to the All-Star game as a starter.

Here's an article on Lonnie while he was in Cleveland:

Nov. 29, 1984

CLEVELAND -- There's a holdup suspect in jail who either suffers from poor eyesight or has delusions of grandeur. He made the mistake of trying to rob 6-foot-8, 275-pound Cleveland Cavaliers forward Lonnie Shelton.

Shelton relieved the man of his gun and gave him the beating of his life. He also tried to convert him.

Cavaliers spokesman Harvey Greene said the suspect approached Shelton and his girlfiend, Cathy, outside a downtown hotel Tuesday as they were about to go to dinner. He said the man pulled out a .357-magnum and told Shelton to hand over all of his money.

Instead Shelton grabbed the gun, which fired twice and damaged a parked car, and pulled it out of the man's hand. Greene said Shelton then gave the gun to his girlfriend and began beating the suspect.

'The only really funny thing I can remember is that Cathy was standing there on the sidewalk waiving the gun in the air,' Shelton said. 'She looked like someone from 'Charlie's Angels.''

Greene said Shelton, a born again Christian, got the man on the ground and sat on him until the police arrived, telling him that only God could save him. When the man refused to take the nine-year forward's advice on religion, Shelton took other measures.

'He started squirming around,' Shelton said, 'so I hit him on the head with a rock.'

After the melee, Shelton had to get four stiches in his hand and was unable to practice Thursday. Greene said Shelton is expected to be back in the lineup in time for Saturday's home game against the Boston Celtics.
 
Seattle shipped him out to Cleveland because Lenny Wilkens was concerned that Lonnie had developed a cocaine habit. While a Cavalier, Shelton was critical to that one mini surge when the George Karl led Cavs broke the playoff drought. He was the muscle behind the scoring of World B. Free and Phil Hubbard. He definitely helped erase the Stepian Era before Wayne Embry went on a hot streak in the draft.
 
Lonnie Shelton played three years for the Cavaliers as an enforcer. When Lonnie came off the bench you knew there would be a body on the floor within minutes as he was a master at throwing NBA versions of hockey checks.

He was a starter with the Seattle for their 1979 Championship Team under Lenny Wilkins (the last title without a superstar until the 2004 Pistons). A good defensive player who was once voted to the All-Star game as a starter.

Here's an article on Lonnie while he was in Cleveland:

Nov. 29, 1984

CLEVELAND -- There's a holdup suspect in jail who either suffers from poor eyesight or has delusions of grandeur. He made the mistake of trying to rob 6-foot-8, 275-pound Cleveland Cavaliers forward Lonnie Shelton.

Shelton relieved the man of his gun and gave him the beating of his life. He also tried to convert him.

Cavaliers spokesman Harvey Greene said the suspect approached Shelton and his girlfiend, Cathy, outside a downtown hotel Tuesday as they were about to go to dinner. He said the man pulled out a .357-magnum and told Shelton to hand over all of his money.

Instead Shelton grabbed the gun, which fired twice and damaged a parked car, and pulled it out of the man's hand. Greene said Shelton then gave the gun to his girlfriend and began beating the suspect.

'The only really funny thing I can remember is that Cathy was standing there on the sidewalk waiving the gun in the air,' Shelton said. 'She looked like someone from 'Charlie's Angels.''

Greene said Shelton, a born again Christian, got the man on the ground and sat on him until the police arrived, telling him that only God could save him. When the man refused to take the nine-year forward's advice on religion, Shelton took other measures.

'He started squirming around,' Shelton said, 'so I hit him on the head with a rock.'

After the melee, Shelton had to get four stiches in his hand and was unable to practice Thursday. Greene said Shelton is expected to be back in the lineup in time for Saturday's home game against the Boston Celtics.
I believe this was at the Lancer Motor Inn.
 
Seattle shipped him out to Cleveland because Lenny Wilkens was concerned that Lonnie had developed a cocaine habit. While a Cavalier, Shelton was critical to that one mini surge when the George Karl led Cavs broke the playoff drought. He was the muscle behind the scoring of World B. Free and Phil Hubbard. He definitely helped erase the Stepian Era before Wayne Embry went on a hot streak in the draft.

My all-time favorite Cavaliers team from a pure heart standpoint. Game 4 at the Coliseum solidified my undying hatred for the Celtics. The officiating in that series was disgraceful. I was never as proud of a Cavalier team as that one -- had no business mixing it up with Boston but they fought right to the end. The Plain Dealer headline the next day said it all: "Cavaliers go down Fighting 117-115".

Wayne Embry doesn't deserve the credit for drafts though. Harry Weltman drafted Hot Rod and was excoriated for it. Embry did advise the Cavaliers to draft Daugherty, but Harper was drafted by Thaxter Trafton (pretty much an obvious pick at that point, as he admitted later) and also decided to trade a second round pick for the rights to Mark Price.

Embry did draft Kevin Johnson later on.
 
I was a Lonnie Shelton booster. Him and Ben Poquette and Edgar Jones were a funny set of bigs, along with Hinson and Hubbard...
 
Seattle shipped him out to Cleveland because Lenny Wilkens was concerned that Lonnie had developed a cocaine habit. While a Cavalier, Shelton was critical to that one mini surge when the George Karl led Cavs broke the playoff drought. He was the muscle behind the scoring of World B. Free and Phil Hubbard. He definitely helped erase the Stepian Era before Wayne Embry went on a hot streak in the draft.

Had he developed a cocaine habit, and if so, was Wilkens able to get him to stop?
 
Lonnie Shelton played three years for the Cavaliers as an enforcer. When Lonnie came off the bench you knew there would be a body on the floor within minutes as he was a master at throwing NBA versions of hockey checks.

He was a starter with the Seattle for their 1979 Championship Team under Lenny Wilkins (the last title without a superstar until the 2004 Pistons). A good defensive player who was once voted to the All-Star game as a starter.

Here's an article on Lonnie while he was in Cleveland:

Nov. 29, 1984

CLEVELAND -- There's a holdup suspect in jail who either suffers from poor eyesight or has delusions of grandeur. He made the mistake of trying to rob 6-foot-8, 275-pound Cleveland Cavaliers forward Lonnie Shelton.

Shelton relieved the man of his gun and gave him the beating of his life. He also tried to convert him.

Cavaliers spokesman Harvey Greene said the suspect approached Shelton and his girlfiend, Cathy, outside a downtown hotel Tuesday as they were about to go to dinner. He said the man pulled out a .357-magnum and told Shelton to hand over all of his money.

Instead Shelton grabbed the gun, which fired twice and damaged a parked car, and pulled it out of the man's hand. Greene said Shelton then gave the gun to his girlfriend and began beating the suspect.

'The only really funny thing I can remember is that Cathy was standing there on the sidewalk waiving the gun in the air,' Shelton said. 'She looked like someone from 'Charlie's Angels.''

Greene said Shelton, a born again Christian, got the man on the ground and sat on him until the police arrived, telling him that only God could save him. When the man refused to take the nine-year forward's advice on religion, Shelton took other measures.

'He started squirming around,' Shelton said, 'so I hit him on the head with a rock.'

After the melee, Shelton had to get four stiches in his hand and was unable to practice Thursday. Greene said Shelton is expected to be back in the lineup in time for Saturday's home game against the Boston Celtics.

You telling me Jack Sikma was not a superstar? Gus Williams? "Downtown" Freddie Brown? Young Dennis Johnson?

You crazy.
 
Lonnie played a big role in helping the Sonics reach the finals in 1979:

https://www.si.com/vault/1979/05/21...-conference-championship-back-to-the-kingdome

The Sonics were down 3-2 to the Suns, in the WCF, and behind in Game 6, when Lennie called on Lonnie to guard Walter Davis. Lonnie was a big factor in shutting Davis down at the end of that game, which the Sonics won by 1. They went on to win Game 7 in Seattle, and then beat the Bullets in the NBA Finals.

Those were two good teams: the Sonics had 5 starters averaging double figures and a lot of good shooters around a budding star, in Sikma; the Suns had Walter Davis and Paul Westphal, who both averaged 24 ppg that year. With the rise of the Showtime Lakers, though, neither team sniffed the Finals for another decade (the Rockets broke through twice, with ok, but not great, teams).
 

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