San Antonio acquired Edgar Jones from Detroit on February 10, 1983 for a 1984 second-round pick and a 1985 third-round pick. Jones played 127 regular-season games for the Spurs across parts of three seasons, started 37 and averaged 10.2 points and 5.5 rebounds in 1983-84. Detroit used the No. 32 pick in 1984 on Eric Turner and the No. 60 pick in 1985 on Andre Goode. Neither draft choice appeared in an NBA regular-season game. San Antonio therefore received all of the direct NBA production while Detroit's two selections yielded zero games, reversing the legacy Pistons-leaning verdict.
The February 10, 1983 transaction sent Edgar Jones from Detroit to San Antonio for two future draft choices: a 1984 second-round pick and a 1985 third-round pick. Both selections eventually stayed with Detroit long enough to be exercised, which makes the completed return straightforward to evaluate.
Jones played 28 regular-season games for the Spurs after the trade in 1982-83 and started three. He averaged 9.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 22.2 minutes. San Antonio went 53-29 that season and reached the Western Conference Finals. Jones was a rotation frontcourt piece after arriving rather than a deep-bench acquisition. He then played 81 games in 1983-84, started 33 and averaged 10.2 points and 5.5 rebounds. Jones added 18 more Spurs games in 1984-85 before moving to Cleveland. Across his San Antonio tenure, Jones appeared in 127 regular-season games and made 37 starts.
The 1984 second-round selection landed at No. 32. Detroit used it on Michigan guard Eric Turner. Turner has a Basketball-Reference draft/player record but no NBA regular-season statistical line. The pick therefore produced zero Pistons regular-season games. That outcome is especially important because the legacy Detroit-side review had treated the pick itself as the lead realized return. This review evaluates what the selection actually became.
Detroit's third-round choice in 1985 landed at No. 60 and became Northwestern forward Andre Goode. Like Turner, Goode has a draft/player record but no NBA regular-season statistical line. The second draft branch also produced zero direct Pistons games. Detroit therefore converted two future selections into two players who never appeared in an NBA regular-season game.
The Spurs received a player who contributed immediately, returned for a full 81-game season and gave the club 127 total regular-season appearances with 37 starts. Detroit's two picks carried transaction-day optionality, but hindsight grading cannot stop at the abstract value of the selections. Once both were exercised, the completed outcomes were zero NBA games from Turner and zero from Goode.
Spurs Win, B+/F. San Antonio receives a B+ for 127 games and 37 starts from Jones, including a productive full season in 1983-84. Detroit receives an F because both acquired draft picks were exercised on players who never appeared in an NBA regular-season game.