Phoenix Got Three Seasons of Rich Kelley
Basketball-Reference records Phoenix acquiring Rich Kelley from New Jersey on February 15, 1980 for a 1982 first-round pick and a 1983 second-round pick. The frozen canonical Nets source package also lists cash going to New Jersey, but the reviewed public transaction ledgers do not state an amount, so this review preserves the term without scoring it.
Kelley immediately joined the Suns' rotation. He played 23 games after the trade in 1979-80, then 81 games in 1980-81 and 81 more in 1981-82. That is 185 Phoenix regular-season games.
His role was steady rather than star-level. In 1981-82 he started 39 games, averaged 7.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists, and gave Phoenix a durable interior passer before the club moved him again.
Phoenix Then Turned Kelley Into Another First
On June 21, 1982, the Suns traded Kelley to Denver for a 1982 first-round pick. Phoenix used that No. 15 selection on David Thirdkill.
Thirdkill played 49 games for Phoenix as a rookie in 1982-83. He was only a reserve, but this is a clean one-for-one downstream branch from Kelley: Phoenix received three seasons of Kelley and then recovered another first-round asset when it moved him.
The Nets Routed the 1982 First Before the Draft
New Jersey never selected Brook Steppe. On November 12, 1981, the Nets sent the incoming first-round pick plus Mike Woodson to Kansas City for veteran center Sam Lacey.
Lacey played 54 regular-season games for New Jersey in 1981-82. Because Woodson was also sent to Kansas City, this review does not credit all 54 Lacey games to the Phoenix pick alone. The first-rounder nevertheless had clear trade utility and helped New Jersey acquire immediate frontcourt depth.
The 1983 Second Became Wayne Sappleton
New Jersey also moved the second-round pick before the 1983 draft. On June 19, 1982, the Nets traded that pick straight up to Golden State for Wayne Sappleton.
Sappleton spent the next two seasons in Italy before returning to New Jersey in 1984-85. He played 33 regular-season games for the Nets that season. This branch therefore produced delayed but directly attributable NBA value.
Why Phoenix Gets the Hindsight Win
New Jersey received two useful trade assets plus cash of unknown amount. The first helped acquire Lacey, and the second directly became Sappleton. That is not an empty return.
Phoenix still did better. Kelley gave the Suns 185 games over three seasons, and the club then converted him into a first-round pick that produced 49 Thirdkill games. The Suns' return is larger, more direct and less dependent on multi-asset attribution.
Final Verdict
Suns Win, A-/C+. Phoenix receives an A- for 185 Kelley games plus the later first-round return that became Thirdkill. New Jersey receives a C+ because both picks retained transaction value, but the first was only one component of the Lacey package and the second ultimately produced 33 Sappleton games; the cash amount is unknown and unscored.