Cleveland acquired Willie Smith from Portland on August 24, 1979 for a 1981 third-round pick. Smith immediately became a useful Cavaliers reserve, playing 62 games in 1979-80 and averaging 4.8 points and 4.2 assists in 17.0 minutes. That season was also his final NBA year, so Cleveland's return was short but tangible. Portland held the pick through the 1981 draft and used No. 50 on center Derek Holcomb, who never appeared in an NBA regular-season game. With 62 games and more than 1,000 minutes of direct production against a draft branch that produced no NBA games, Cleveland has the clear hindsight advantage.
Basketball-Reference's Cleveland transaction ledger records the August 24, 1979 deal: the Cavaliers sent a 1981 third-round pick to Portland for Willie Smith. The pick later became the No. 50 selection used on Derek Holcomb.
Smith had appeared in only 16 NBA games before arriving in Cleveland, including 13 for Portland in 1978-79. The Cavaliers gave him by far the largest role of his NBA career. He played 62 games in 1979-80 and logged 1,051 minutes. Smith averaged 4.8 points, 4.2 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 17.0 minutes per game while serving as reserve point-guard depth. Those 62 games were his final NBA season, so the trade did not create a long-term Cleveland piece. It did, however, provide a full year of usable rotation minutes from a player acquired for a future third-round selection.
The Trail Blazers kept the incoming pick through the 1981 draft and selected Derek Holcomb 50th overall in the third round. Holcomb never appeared in an NBA regular-season game. Basketball-Reference lists the selection in Portland's 1981 draft history but shows no NBA statistical line for him. That means Portland successfully converted the asset into a player selection but received no realized NBA playing value from the branch.
This is not a franchise-changing trade. Smith's Cleveland tenure lasted one season, and his role was modest. But 62 games, 1,051 minutes and 259 assists are concrete value. Portland's side produced a third-round selection that never reached the NBA. With no documented downstream transaction attached to Holcomb, there is no later value to offset Smith's season in Cleveland.
Cavaliers Win, B-/D+. Cleveland receives a B- for a full season of reserve guard production from Smith. Portland receives a D+ because the acquired third-round pick was exercised at No. 50 but produced no NBA regular-season games.