Houston acquired James Bailey from New Jersey on November 10, 1982 for second-round picks in 1983 and 1985. Bailey gave the Rockets 142 regular-season games across two seasons, starting 39 and averaging 14.1 points and 6.8 rebounds in 1982-83. New Jersey used the 1983 No. 44 pick on Horace Owens, who never played an NBA game, and the 1985 No. 36 pick on Yvon Joseph, who appeared in one Nets game for five minutes. Owens' rights were later traded before opening night, but the direct player return from the two picks was essentially one NBA appearance. Houston therefore received the far stronger realized basketball value.
Basketball-Reference's New Jersey transaction ledger records the November 10, 1982 trade as James Bailey to Houston for two second-round picks: one in 1983 and another in 1985. The picks eventually became No. 44 Horace Owens and No. 36 Yvon Joseph.
Bailey played 69 regular-season games for the Rockets in 1982-83 and started 39. He averaged 24.9 minutes, 14.1 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting 49.7 percent. Houston was a 14-win rebuilding team, so those numbers did not translate into team success. Still, Bailey's role was real: he logged 1,715 minutes and became one of the club's most productive frontcourt players. He returned for 73 games in 1983-84, all off the bench, averaging 8.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in 16.1 minutes. That gives Houston 142 direct regular-season games from Bailey over two seasons, including 39 starts.
New Jersey used the No. 44 pick in the 1983 NBA Draft on Rhode Island guard Horace Owens. Owens never appeared in an NBA regular-season game. The Nets later moved his rights with Eddie Phillips to Philadelphia during the 1983 preseason, and Owens was waived before the season. Because the player never logged an NBA game, this review treats the 1983 pick's direct basketball return as zero.
The second Houston pick conveyed at No. 36 in 1985, where New Jersey selected Georgia Tech center Yvon Joseph. Joseph played one NBA regular-season game for the Nets in 1985-86. He logged five minutes, scored two points at the free-throw line and did not start. That single appearance was his entire NBA career.
New Jersey turned two second-round picks into one NBA appearance from Joseph and no NBA games from Owens. Houston received two seasons and 142 games from Bailey. The picks had some transactional and roster flexibility before being exercised, but their realized player value was negligible compared with Bailey's immediate production.
Rockets Win, A-/D. Houston receives an A- for acquiring 142 games, 39 starts and a productive first season from Bailey at the cost of two second-rounders. New Jersey receives a D because the two selections produced just one direct NBA game between them.