New Jersey traded Roger Phegley to Cleveland on September 24, 1980 for Clarence 'Foots' Walker. Walker played 231 regular-season games over four Nets seasons, including 77 games with 54 starts in 1981-82, and provided steady point-guard distribution through 1983-84. Phegley played 109 Cleveland games across parts of two seasons, highlighted by 14.4 points per game in 1980-81, before the Cavaliers packaged him with Mike Mitchell in a San Antonio trade for Ron Brewer, Reggie Johnson and cash. Both teams received useful players, but New Jersey got more isolated long-term value from the one-for-one exchange.
Basketball-Reference's New Jersey, Cleveland and league transaction ledgers record the September 24, 1980 swap as Roger Phegley to Cleveland for Foots Walker. The canonical TradeVerdicts record lists him by his given name, Clarence Walker; Basketball-Reference identifies Foots Walker as Clarence Walker.
Walker played 41 games for New Jersey in 1980-81 and averaged 5.7 points with 6.2 assists in 28.6 minutes. His largest Nets role came in 1981-82. Walker appeared in 77 games, started 54 and averaged 5.9 points with 5.2 assists. He remained with the team for 79 games in 1982-83 and another 34 in 1983-84. That gives New Jersey 231 regular-season games from Walker across four seasons. He was not a scorer, but he provided sustained point-guard minutes and distribution well beyond the first year of the trade.
Phegley played all 82 games for Cleveland in 1980-81 and logged 2,269 minutes. He averaged 14.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting 49.1 percent from the field. He returned for 27 Cavaliers games in 1981-82, starting eight and averaging 9.2 points. His Cleveland total was therefore 109 regular-season games across parts of two seasons. That is meaningful direct production, particularly in the first year. Cleveland did not simply acquire a disposable roster piece.
On December 23, 1981, Cleveland traded Phegley and Mike Mitchell to San Antonio for Ron Brewer, Reggie Johnson and cash. Phegley therefore retained trade value, but this review does not assign the full Spurs return to him. Mitchell was a major outgoing player and the transaction cannot be reduced to a Phegley-only branch. The proper source-backed credit is narrower: Cleveland received 109 Phegley games and then used him as one component of a multi-player return.
Cleveland received the better short-term scorer. Phegley's 14.4 points per game in 1980-81 gave the Cavaliers more immediate offensive production than Walker ever supplied the Nets. New Jersey received much more duration. Walker stayed four seasons, played 231 games and remained useful as a primary or reserve point guard into 1983-84. Because Cleveland's later trade return required Mike Mitchell, that downstream branch cannot erase the direct 122-game gap between Walker and Phegley.
Slight Nets Edge, B+/B. New Jersey receives a B+ for four seasons and 231 Walker games. Cleveland receives a B for 109 Phegley games, including a productive 82-game first season, plus partial downstream trade value. The exchange was useful to both clubs, but the Nets realized the more durable one-for-one return.