New York traded the rights to Tom Barker to Portland on August 4, 1981 for a 1982 third-round pick. Barker had last played in the NBA in 1978-79 and never appeared for Portland, so the Trail Blazers received no regular-season games from the acquired rights. New York kept the pick and used No. 57 on Illinois guard Craig Tucker, who also never played an NBA regular-season game. The deal therefore produced zero direct NBA games for either side. With neither asset generating documented downstream NBA value, the fairest retrospective result is an even, low-impact exchange.
Basketball-Reference's Knicks, Trail Blazers and league transaction ledgers all record the same August 4, 1981 deal. New York sent Tom Barker to Portland for a 1982 third-round pick. The canonical source record describes Barker as draft rights, which is the correct asset framing for this retrospective because Barker was not an active NBA contributor at the time.
Barker's Basketball-Reference career page lists 98 NBA games over two seasons, with his final NBA appearances coming in 1978-79. He played for Houston, Boston and New York that season, including 22 Knicks games. He did not return to the NBA afterward. Portland therefore realized zero NBA regular-season games from the Barker rights acquired in this trade. No reviewed transaction source shows a later NBA asset return from those rights that would change the evaluation.
The incoming third-round selection landed at No. 57 in the 1982 draft. New York used it on Illinois guard Craig Tucker. Basketball-Reference lists Tucker as the No. 57 selection but shows no NBA regular-season statistics. The Knicks therefore also received zero NBA games from their direct asset.
This is a rare historical trade where the direct NBA outcome is essentially identical on both sides. Portland acquired rights to a player whose NBA career had already ended. New York acquired a late draft pick that produced a drafted player who never appeared in an NBA regular-season game. Neither branch generated documented downstream NBA value in the reviewed ledgers. That makes a winner call artificial.
Even Trade, D/D. Portland receives a D because Barker produced no Trail Blazers games. New York also receives a D because the No. 57 pick on Tucker produced no Knicks or NBA regular-season games. The trade belongs in the even bucket because both realized returns were effectively zero.