Cleveland acquired James Silas and the rights to Rich Yonakor from San Antonio on June 16, 1981 for a 1982 second-round pick; the frozen Cavaliers package also lists cash, although Basketball-Reference's public transaction ledgers omit that term. Silas played 67 games and started 34 for Cleveland in 1981-82, averaging 11.2 points and 3.3 assists before a back injury ended his career. Cleveland waived Yonakor's rights, and he later signed back with San Antonio as a free agent. The Spurs used the No. 24 pick on Oliver Robinson, who played 35 games. Cleveland captured the stronger documented basketball return.
Basketball-Reference records Cleveland acquiring James Silas and Rich Yonakor from San Antonio on June 16, 1981 for a 1982 second-round pick that later became Oliver Robinson. The frozen Cavaliers source package also includes cash going to San Antonio. Because that term is not shown in the reviewed Basketball-Reference ledgers, this review preserves it as a frozen-source term but does not invent an amount.
Silas played 67 games for the Cavaliers in 1981-82 and started 34. He averaged 11.2 points, 3.3 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 21.6 minutes. For a veteran guard acquired at age 32, that was a meaningful one-season return. Silas did not play in 1982-83 because of a back injury and never appeared in another NBA game. Cleveland therefore received one useful season rather than a multi-year branch.
Cleveland acquired Yonakor's draft rights but waived him on October 27, 1981. San Antonio later signed Yonakor as a free agent on March 8, 1982. He played 10 games for the Spurs, but those appearances came after Cleveland had released him and therefore are not realized Cavaliers value from this trade. This review credits Cleveland with the acquired rights but zero NBA games from that branch.
The 1982 second-round selection landed at No. 24 and became Oliver Robinson. Robinson played 35 games for San Antonio in 1982-83, all off the bench, averaging 2.9 points, 0.6 assists and 0.5 rebounds in 4.2 minutes. That was his only NBA season.
San Antonio received 35 Robinson games plus an unquantified cash term preserved from the frozen source package. Cleveland received 67 Silas games, 34 starts and materially larger playing time and production. Yonakor's rights added no Cavaliers games, so the grade does not depend on that asset. The unknown cash prevents an extreme grade gap, but the documented basketball value still favors Cleveland.
Slight Cavaliers Edge, B+/C+. Cleveland receives a B+ for 67 Silas games and 34 starts. San Antonio receives a C+ for 35 Robinson games plus an unquantified frozen-source cash term.