New Jersey signed restricted veteran free agent Ray Williams on October 25, 1981 after New York declined its right of first refusal, with Maurice Lucas going to the Knicks as compensation. Williams played all 82 games for the Nets, started 69 and averaged 20.4 points, 6.0 assists and 2.4 steals while helping a 24-win team improve to 44-38 and reach the playoffs. Lucas played 80 games for New York, started 74 and averaged 15.8 points and 11.3 rebounds. Both were productive one-season starters before moving on, making the realized exchange unusually balanced.
Basketball-Reference's New Jersey transaction ledger records the October 25, 1981 mechanism directly. The Nets signed Ray Williams as a veteran free agent and sent Maurice Lucas to the Knicks as compensation. The canonical right-of-first-refusal wording describes the same restricted-free-agent process: New York declined to keep Williams, New Jersey secured him, and Lucas became the compensation moving the other way.
Williams played all 82 regular-season games for New Jersey in 1981-82 and started 69. He averaged 20.4 points, 6.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.4 steals in 33.3 minutes. He finished as the Nets' leading scorer during a dramatic team improvement. New Jersey rose from 24-58 in 1980-81 to 44-38 and reached the playoffs. Williams was not a long-term Net. He moved to Kansas City the following season, so this review credits New Jersey with one high-level season rather than his later career.
Maurice Lucas played 80 regular-season games for the Knicks in 1981-82 and started 74. He averaged 15.8 points and 11.3 rebounds while playing 33.4 minutes per game. Lucas led New York in rebounding and gave the Knicks a durable veteran frontcourt presence. Like Williams, however, his stay lasted only one season; he joined Phoenix for 1982-83. The Knicks did not reach the playoffs, but Lucas's individual production was substantial and should not be discounted simply because the team finished 33-49.
Williams delivered more scoring and playmaking, and his arrival coincided with a 20-win improvement and playoff berth for New Jersey. Lucas delivered elite rebounding, interior production and nearly the same availability for New York. Both sides received roughly one full season from a proven starter. Neither retained the player long enough to create a major long-term advantage, and both players performed at a level that justified the unusual compensation mechanism.
Even Trade, A-/A-. New Jersey receives an A- for an 82-game, 20.4-point season from Williams during a playoff turnaround. New York receives an A- for 80 games, 74 starts and an 11.3-rebound season from Lucas. The strengths were different, but the realized one-season value was balanced enough that forcing a winner would overstate the margin.