Denver acquired Bill Hanzlik from Seattle on July 20, 1982 for the rights to veteran forward Wally Walker. Hanzlik became a long-term Nuggets fixture, playing 593 regular-season games across eight seasons, starting 33 and earning 1986 All-Defensive Second Team honors. Seattle turned Walker into a 1984 second-round pick three months later; the No. 28 selection became Cory Blackwell, who played 60 regular-season games for the SuperSonics and never started. The Walker rights therefore retained downstream value, but Hanzlik's eight-year Denver tenure and defensive role made the Nuggets the clear realized-value winner.
Basketball-Reference's Denver transaction ledger records the July 20, 1982 move as Bill Hanzlik to the Nuggets for the rights to Wally Walker. Hanzlik had started 76 games for Seattle in 1981-82. Denver acquired him just before his age-25 season and kept him for the rest of his playing career.
Hanzlik appeared in all 82 regular-season games in his first Nuggets season, then 80 in 1983-84 and 80 again in 1984-85. He remained a rotation player through 1989-90. Across eight Denver seasons, he played 593 regular-season games and started 33. He gave the Nuggets durable wing and forward depth rather than a one-year return. His best individual recognition came in 1985-86, when he averaged 12.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists while earning NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors.
Wally Walker never played another regular-season game for Seattle after the July 1982 rights transaction. On October 5, the SuperSonics traded Walker to Houston for a 1984 second-round pick. That later move is important because it means Seattle did not simply receive a dead rights asset. The Walker branch turned into a usable draft selection.
Seattle used the 1984 second-round pick at No. 28 on Wisconsin forward Cory Blackwell. Blackwell played 60 regular-season games for the SuperSonics in 1984-85, made no starts and averaged 3.4 points in 9.2 minutes. That was his only NBA season. The downstream return was real, but it was limited to one reserve season.
Denver received 593 games, eight seasons and an All-Defensive Team year from Hanzlik. Seattle's rights branch eventually produced 60 reserve games from Blackwell. The SuperSonics deserve credit for converting Walker into another asset, which keeps the trade from looking empty. The scale of Hanzlik's Denver tenure still overwhelms the downstream return.
Nuggets Win, A-/C+. Denver receives an A- for eight seasons of durable rotation value and one All-Defensive Second Team campaign. Seattle receives a C+ because the Walker rights were flipped into the pick that became Blackwell, but the final realized return was only 60 games and zero starts.