Trade Verdicts
NBA Trade Verdict

Clippers Win

Cleveland traded franchise veteran Bingo Smith to San Diego on October 27, 1979 for a 1980 third-round pick. Smith immediately became a regular Clippers forward, playing 70 games and averaging 11.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 28.4 minutes. Dallas then selected him from San Diego in the 1980 expansion draft, ending the Clippers' return after one season. Cleveland used the No. 53 pick on Stuart House, who never played an NBA regular-season game. San Diego therefore received the only meaningful realized basketball value from the deal.

October 27, 1979 Cleveland Cavaliers / LA Clippers Record confidence: High

Cleveland Cavaliers Received

  • Draft Pick 1980 third round pick (#53-Stuart House)

LA Clippers Received

Cleveland Cavaliers

D

LA Clippers

B+

Trade Analysis

Cleveland Moved a Longtime Veteran for a Third-Round Pick

Basketball-Reference records Cleveland trading Bingo Smith to San Diego on October 27, 1979 for a 1980 third-round pick. The selection later landed at No. 53 and was used on Stuart House.

Smith Gave San Diego a Full Rotation Season

Smith had played only eight games for Cleveland before the trade, but he immediately stepped into a much larger Clippers role. He appeared in 70 games for San Diego and logged 1,988 minutes. He averaged 11.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 28.4 minutes. That made him a regular wing contributor rather than a short-term end-of-bench addition. The Clippers did not keep him beyond the season. Dallas selected Smith from San Diego in the May 28, 1980 expansion draft. This review therefore stops the Clippers return at those 70 games and does not assign any of Smith's later Dallas production to San Diego.

Cleveland Used the Pick on Stuart House

The Cavaliers kept the incoming third-round selection and drafted Stuart House at No. 53 in June 1980. Basketball-Reference lists House as a Cleveland draft pick but records no NBA regular-season games. The pick therefore produced no direct on-court value for the Cavaliers. There is no documented downstream NBA transaction branch from House that changes the comparison. Cleveland acquired a draft opportunity, but the realized result was zero games.

Why San Diego Wins

The Clippers received 70 games and nearly 2,000 minutes from Smith before losing him in the expansion draft. Cleveland received one third-round selection that never reached an NBA regular-season floor. Smith was near the end of his career, so this was not a long-term franchise-changing acquisition. Even so, a full season of double-digit scoring is decisively more realized value than a draft pick that produced no NBA games.

Final Verdict

Clippers Win, B+/D. San Diego receives a B+ for 70 useful Smith games in 1979-80. Cleveland receives a D because the No. 53 selection on Stuart House produced no NBA regular-season appearances.

Research sources (7)