Philadelphia traded Jack George to the New York Knicks for Guy Sparrow on January 27, 1959. Basketball-Reference's Philadelphia, New York and league transaction ledgers all preserve the same date and one-for-one package, while Eddie Gottlieb's executive ledger independently confirms the Warriors' side. George then played 110 regular-season games for New York over parts of three seasons, averaging 8.2 points and 3.0 assists. Sparrow played only 34 games for Philadelphia over parts of two seasons and averaged 3.4 points and 2.4 rebounds. The realized return clearly favors the Knicks, although George's best NBA years had already come before the trade.
Philadelphia sent Jack George to New York for Guy Sparrow on January 27, 1959. Team and league transaction ledgers agree on the one-for-one exchange, with no draft pick, cash term or later condition attached. Both were veteran players by the time of the trade, so the result turns on how much useful NBA value each club received after the swap rather than on a hidden asset chain.
George played 25 games for the Knicks in 1958-59, 69 the next season and 16 more in 1960-61. Across 110 New York appearances he averaged 8.2 points, 3.0 assists and 2.8 rebounds. His All-Star peak had already occurred in Philadelphia, so the Knicks did not acquire a star version of George, but they did receive more than a season and a half of useful veteran backcourt play.
Sparrow appeared in 23 games for the Warriors after the trade and 11 more in 1959-60. His 34-game Philadelphia stay produced 3.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game in a limited role, and 1959-60 became his final NBA season. The contrast is straightforward: New York extracted far more remaining service from George than Philadelphia did from Sparrow.
The difference is visible even when the players' earlier reputations are excluded. George appeared in 25 games after joining New York during 1958-59, then 69 the following season before adding another 16 in 1960-61. Those appearances provided continuity in the Knicks' backcourt for parts of three campaigns. Philadelphia, by contrast, received only 23 Sparrow games in the first partial season and 11 in the next, after which his NBA career ended. That's not a hypothetical comparison of their draft pedigree or peak talent; the two clubs actually received radically different remaining terms of service. It also explains why New York's B+ isn't a claim that George arrived as an All-Star. The value was a reliable veteran rotation contribution from a straight one-for-one exchange.
Knicks Win — New York B+, Philadelphia C-. George was no longer at his All-Star peak, but 110 games of regular rotation work clearly exceeded Sparrow's 34-game, low-minute Warriors tenure. This was a useful veteran win for New York, not a franchise-changing steal.