Boston traded Billy Knight to Indiana on January 16, 1979 for rookie center Rick Robey. Knight gave the Pacers 357 regular-season games over the next five seasons, including 17.5 points per game in 1980-81 and 17.1 in 1982-83. Robey played 339 regular-season games for Boston, helped the Celtics win the 1981 championship and later became part of the June 1983 package that brought Dennis Johnson plus two draft picks to Boston. Johnson then played 541 games over seven Celtics seasons and started for the 1984 and 1986 champions. Indiana received the better scorer, but Boston extracted more championship and downstream transaction value.
Basketball-Reference's league and team transaction logs agree on the January 16, 1979 deal. Boston sent Billy Knight to Indiana for Rick Robey. Both players immediately became useful for their new teams, and unlike many trades in this part of the archive, both sides received multi-season value.
Knight played 39 games for Indiana after the trade in 1978-79 and averaged 14.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists. He then stayed for four more seasons. His strongest year came in 1980-81, when he played all 82 games, started 70 and averaged 17.5 points and 5.0 rebounds. Indiana reached the playoffs that season. Across the five post-trade Pacers seasons, Knight appeared in 357 regular-season games. He also averaged 17.1 points in 1982-83, his final Indiana season. That is a strong direct return. Indiana did not merely get a short-term veteran; Knight remained an important scorer through several roster cycles.
Robey joined Boston as a 22-year-old rookie center and played 36 games after the trade, averaging 12.4 points and 7.2 rebounds. He stayed through 1982-83. Over that span, Robey appeared in 339 Celtics regular-season games, including all 82 games in both 1979-80 and 1980-81. His role declined over time, but the most important season was 1980-81. Robey played all 82 regular-season games and 17 playoff games for the Celtics team that won the NBA championship. That gives Boston a title-season rotation contribution that Indiana's side cannot match directly.
Boston did not simply lose Robey when his playing role ended. On June 27, 1983, the Celtics sent Robey and two second-round picks to Phoenix. In return, Boston received Dennis Johnson, a first-round pick that became Greg Kite and a third-round pick that became Winfred King. This review does not credit the full Johnson return to Robey alone because Boston also included two second-round selections. Robey was nevertheless one of the assets required to complete the deal. Johnson then played seven seasons and 541 regular-season games for Boston. He started 522 of them and was part of the Celtics teams that won the 1984 and 1986 championships. That downstream branch materially raises the value of Boston's original Robey acquisition even after accounting for the additional picks the Celtics had to include.
Indiana received the more productive individual scorer from the original one-for-one trade. Knight's 357 games and multiple double-digit scoring seasons make the Pacers side a strong outcome. Boston received 339 Robey games, a rotation center on the 1981 champions and an asset later used in the package for Dennis Johnson. The Johnson transaction cannot be treated as if Robey alone bought a Hall of Fame-level guard, but it is still legitimate realized value from the Robey branch. Combined with Robey's championship contribution, that is enough to move Boston ahead.
Celtics Win, A/A-. Boston receives an A because Robey contributed to the 1981 championship and later became part of the package that brought Dennis Johnson and two draft picks to Boston. Indiana receives an A- because Knight produced 357 regular-season games over five seasons and remained one of the Pacers' more reliable scorers during that stretch.