Indiana Received One Season From Brad Branson
Basketball-Reference's Cleveland transaction ledger records the October 25, 1982 exchange directly: the Cavaliers sent Brad Branson to Indiana for a 1983 second-round pick.
Branson played 62 regular-season games for the Pacers in 1982-83 and made two starts. He averaged 11.0 minutes, 5.5 points and 2.8 rebounds while shooting 42.5 percent from the field.
Those 62 games were the final NBA appearances of his career. Indiana therefore received one season of reserve frontcourt production and no longer-term branch from the player.
Cleveland Did Not Draft Scooter McCray
The incoming pick ultimately became No. 36 in the 1983 NBA Draft, where Seattle selected Scooter McCray.
That draft label can be misleading if treated as Cleveland's realized player outcome. On June 27, one day before the draft, Cleveland traded the pick to Seattle for Lonnie Shelton.
Basketball-Reference records the pick-for-Shelton transaction, while Pro Sports Transactions also lists cash going from Cleveland to Seattle. Because the Cavaliers added cash, this review cannot assign Shelton's entire later Cleveland career to the Branson pick by itself.
The Pick Helped Bring Lonnie Shelton to Cleveland
Shelton played 79 regular-season games for Cleveland in 1983-84 and started 78. He averaged 26.6 minutes, 10.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
He returned for 57 games and 14 starts in 1984-85, then 44 games and one start in 1985-86.
Across those three Cavaliers seasons, Shelton appeared in 180 regular-season games and started 93. The first season alone gave Cleveland a near full-time starter from a package built around the acquired second-round pick plus cash.
Scooter McCray's Career Belongs to Seattle
Seattle used No. 36 on McCray, who played 53 regular-season games for the SuperSonics across two seasons before later appearing for Cleveland as a free agent in 1986-87.
Those later Cleveland games are not credited to this 1982 trade. McCray reached Cleveland years later through an independent free-agent signing, after the original pick had already been spent in the Shelton transaction.
Why Cleveland Gets the Edge
Indiana obtained 62 reserve games and two starts from Branson. Cleveland converted the second-round pick, together with additional cash, into a veteran who supplied 180 games and 93 starts over three seasons.
The cash component prevents the pick from receiving full credit for Shelton, but the transaction chain still shows that Cleveland preserved and then leveraged the asset for much more roster value than Branson produced in Indiana.
Final Verdict
Cavaliers Win, B/C+. Cleveland receives a B because the acquired second-round pick became a central part of the Lonnie Shelton package and helped produce three seasons of frontcourt value. Indiana receives a C+ for 62 useful reserve games from Branson, with no additional NBA return after his lone Pacers season.