Golden State Warriors received Dave Feitl, Rockets right to match offer sheet on free agent Dirk Minniefield, first round pick (lottery protected) (1989 #16-Dana Barros), and cash. Houston Rockets received Purvis Short. Warriors Win. Golden State Warriors is graded B-; Houston Rockets is graded C-. The completed outcome is judged on realized player production, draft conversion and traceable downstream trade value rather than on the best later name merely associated with a pick.
Golden State sent Purvis Short to Houston on November 5, 1987 for Dave Feitl, the Rockets’ right to match Dirk Minniefield, a lottery-protected first-round pick and cash. Feitl immediately supplied depth, appearing in 70 games with 19 starts in 1987-88. Minniefield was a much smaller branch, playing 11 games before Golden State waived him later that month. The real leverage in the package was the future first.
Short still had scoring value when he arrived in Houston. He played 81 games in 1987-88 and averaged 14.3 points, then appeared in 65 games the following season. That gave the Rockets 146 regular-season games across two years from a veteran wing who could still carry a meaningful offensive role. Houston did not receive an empty return; the issue is that Short’s value ended while Golden State’s draft branch kept moving.
The incoming first became the No. 16 pick in 1989, where Dana Barros was later selected. Golden State did not keep that pick. The Warriors traded it to Seattle for a 1990 first, then sent that 1990 first back to Seattle for Alton Lister. Lister played only three games in 1989-90 because of injury, but returned for 77 games with 65 starts in 1990-91. Gary Payton was later selected with the pick sent to Seattle, but Payton’s career is not Golden State value and is not counted here.
Golden State did not actually select Dana Barros using the first-round asset in this transaction. The Warriors sent the eventual No. 16 choice to Seattle for a 1990 first, then moved that later selection back to Seattle in the Alton Lister deal. That is the relevant chain when grading the original November 1987 exchange. Lister lost most of 1989-90 to injury but appeared in 77 games with 65 starts during 1990-91. Houston's direct return was simpler: Purvis Short played 146 games over two seasons and provided meaningful veteran scoring. Golden State's several-part package offered more routes to value, but the later careers of Barros and Gary Payton belong to their actual teams, not to the Warriors.
Warriors Win — Golden State B-, Houston C-. Short gave Houston 146 useful games, so the Rockets received real short-term production. Golden State still produced the stronger package through Feitl’s 70-game season, a small Minniefield branch, cash and a first-round asset that was ultimately converted into Alton Lister. The grade does not credit Golden State for Dana Barros or Gary Payton; it follows only the assets the Warriors actually kept or converted.