Who is Ted Stepien and what in the world does he have to do with the consecutive trades the Cleveland Cavaliers made this week? Ted Stepien owned the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1980-1983. He is widely considered to be one of the worst owners in the history of professional sports and the Cavaliers were so bad during his regime, they were nicknamed the ‘Cleveland Cadavers’. Over the course of the 3 years he was there Stepien traded away 5 consecutive first-round Cavalier picks ranging from 1982-1985. After that, the NBA had enough and instituted the “Stepien Rule”.
What is the Stepien Rule?