The Canonical record Represents Two Same-Day Trades
Basketball-Reference's Denver and league transaction ledgers record two separate June 26, 1978 moves. First, Kansas City sent Ron Boone and a 1979 second-round pick to Denver for Darnell Hillman and the draft rights to Mike Evans. Denver then sent Boone, that Kansas City second-round pick and a second 1979 second-round pick to the Lakers for Charlie Scott.
The Lakers and Kings team ledgers confirm their respective halves of the sequence. Pro Sports Transactions treats the chain as a three-team transaction, which is a reasonable canonical representation as long as every asset is preserved.
The legacy archive entry did not preserve every asset. It listed Scott to Denver, Hillman and Evans to Kansas City, and only the Ollie Mack pick to Los Angeles. This review restores Boone and the Kansas City second-round pick that became No. 41 Mark Young.
Denver Got Two Seasons From Charlie Scott
Scott became the clearest single-team return in the chain. He played 79 games for Denver in 1978-79, averaging 12.0 points and 5.4 assists in 33.1 minutes. He returned for 69 games in 1979-80, averaging 7.4 points and continuing as a veteran backcourt option.
That gives Denver 148 regular-season games across two seasons from the player acquired through the two-step maneuver. Scott did not create another major downstream asset branch, so the value is largely direct service rather than later trade capital.
The Lakers Received Boone Plus Two Second-Round Picks
Boone played all 82 games for Los Angeles in 1978-79, averaging 7.4 points in a reduced role, then appeared in six more Lakers games the following season. On October 25, 1979, Los Angeles traded him to Utah for a 1981 third-round pick. That gives Boone 88 Lakers regular-season games plus a modest later draft return.
One of the two second-rounders became No. 25 Ollie Mack. Mack played 27 regular-season games for Los Angeles in 1979-80 before the Lakers traded him, a 1980 second-round pick and a 1981 second-round pick to Chicago for Mark Landsberger. Because two additional picks were outgoing, this review does not assign the entire Landsberger return to Mack alone.
The second restored pick became No. 41 Mark Young. Basketball-Reference's 1979 draft ledger lists him as a Lakers selection but shows no NBA regular-season career. That branch produced no on-court value.
Kansas City Got One Useful Hillman Season
Hillman played 78 games for the Kings in 1978-79, averaging 7.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in 20.7 minutes. He was a useful frontcourt reserve for a 48-win Midwest Division champion.
Evans never appeared in a Kansas City regular-season game. The Kings waived him on October 11, 1978, and his later NBA career began elsewhere. Kansas City's realized return from the June chain is therefore almost entirely Hillman's one season.
The Result Is Competitive but Denver Has the Best Single Return
Los Angeles accumulated more separate assets, but two of them were limited: Mack played 27 Lakers games and Young never reached the NBA. Boone was useful for one full season and produced a third-round pick when moved.
Kansas City received 78 Hillman games but nothing from Evans. Denver received 148 Scott games across two seasons, including a full 79-game first year with substantial playmaking responsibility.
Final Verdict
Nuggets Edge, B+/B/C+. Denver receives a B+ because Scott supplied the strongest sustained direct return in the chain. Los Angeles receives a B because Boone gave the Lakers 88 games, Mack added 27 and Boone later returned a third-round pick, but Young produced no NBA value and Mack's later trade required two additional picks. Kansas City receives a C+ because Hillman gave the Kings one useful season while Evans was waived before playing. Confidence is high after restoring the two omitted Lakers assets and reconciling the two-step transaction sequence.