Atlanta acquired Jim Johnstone's draft rights from Kansas City on June 30, 1982 for Seattle's 1984 second-round pick, later No. 37 Ben Coleman. Johnstone never played a regular-season game for Atlanta; the Hawks packaged his rights with 1983 and 1985 second-round picks to San Antonio in September for George Johnson. Kansas City also rerouted the 1984 pick before it was exercised, sending it to Chicago in the 1983 Mark Olberding/Larry Micheaux deal. Chicago eventually used No. 37 on Coleman. Because neither original team received direct NBA games from the terminal player tied to its incoming asset, the edge is modest, but Kansas City preserved a more portable draft asset that remained useful in another trade.
Basketball-Reference records the June 30, 1982 trade as Atlanta receiving Jim Johnstone's draft rights from Kansas City for a 1984 second-round pick. The Hawks' official media guide adds an important detail: the pick originally belonged to Seattle and had reached Atlanta in the 1980 Armond Hill trade. Neither Atlanta nor Kansas City ultimately used its incoming asset as a long-term player piece.
Kansas City had selected Johnstone at No. 51 in the 1982 draft. Atlanta acquired his rights the next day but never used him in a regular-season game. On September 27, 1982, the Hawks sent Johnstone, a 1983 second-round pick and a 1985 second-round pick to San Antonio for George Johnson. Johnstone later appeared in seven games for San Antonio and sixteen for Detroit in 1982-83. Those games cannot be credited to Atlanta because they occurred after the Hawks had traded him again. His rights did retain transaction value, but they were only one of three outgoing assets in the George Johnson deal. This review therefore does not assign Atlanta the entire value of Johnson.
The Kings held the acquired 1984 second-round pick until June 28, 1983. Kansas City then sent the pick to Chicago together with the draft rights to Ennis Whatley and Chris McNealy for Mark Olberding and the rights to Larry Micheaux. Chicago ultimately exercised the pick at No. 37 in 1984 and selected Ben Coleman. Coleman did not play in the NBA until 1986-87 after two seasons in Italy, and he never played for Kansas City. His later five-year NBA career belongs to other franchises for direct realized-value purposes.
Atlanta and Kansas City both converted the acquired asset into a later transaction instead of direct on-court production. That makes this a much closer comparison than the terminal player names suggest. The difference is asset portability. Kansas City's second-round pick remained a discrete draft asset that could be packaged in a later deal and ultimately became a useful NBA player after reaching Chicago. Atlanta's Johnstone rights also carried value, but they were moved only months later as one piece of a three-asset package. No original team received a direct NBA game from Johnstone or Coleman. The Kings' advantage is therefore limited to the continuing value of the pick, not Coleman's later career.
Kings Win, C+/C. Kansas City receives a C+ because the 1984 second-rounder remained useful in a later trade and eventually became No. 37 Ben Coleman after leaving the Kings. Atlanta receives a C because Johnstone never played for the Hawks and his rights were only one component of a later multi-asset deal. The margin is modest.