Kansas City Bought Five Seasons of Larry Drew
Basketball-Reference's Detroit, Kansas City and league transaction ledgers agree on the August 26, 1981 terms. Detroit sent Larry Drew to the Kings for Kansas City's 1982 second-round pick, later No. 28 Dave Magley, and 1984 second-round pick, later No. 34 Tony Costner.
The original canonical record treated Magley as if Detroit directly received the player. That is not what happened. Both incoming assets were draft picks, and Detroit traded each pick before it was exercised.
Drew Became a Long-Term Kings Starter
Drew played 81 games for Kansas City in 1981-82, then moved into a much larger role. In 1982-83 he started 74 of 75 games and averaged 20.1 points and 8.1 assists.
He remained with the franchise through the move to Sacramento in 1985-86. Across five Kings seasons, Drew played 376 regular-season games and started 263.
That is a large direct return for two second-round picks, especially because Drew was only 23 when Kansas City acquired him.
Detroit Rerouted the 1982 Pick
The 1982 second-rounder became the No. 28 selection, which Cleveland ultimately used on Dave Magley.
Detroit had already moved that pick on February 16, 1982. The Pistons sent Phil Hubbard, Paul Mokeski, a 1982 first-round pick and this second-round pick to Cleveland for Kenny Carr and Bill Laimbeer.
Because the pick was one component of a four-asset package, this review does not credit the entire Laimbeer-Carr return to the Drew trade. It does, however, credit the pick with retaining real transaction value.
Detroit Rerouted the 1984 Pick Too
The second Kansas City pick became No. 34 in 1984, when Washington selected Tony Costner. Detroit never made that selection.
On February 13, 1983, the Pistons sent the 1984 second-rounder and a 1985 second-rounder to Atlanta in a three-team trade that brought Ray Tolbert from Seattle to Detroit. Tolbert played 77 regular-season games for the Pistons across parts of two seasons.
Again, the incoming pick was only one part of the later package, so Tolbert cannot be assigned entirely to this branch.
Why Kansas City Wins
Detroit extracted meaningful trade utility from both second-round picks, which prevents this from being a one-sided failure. One pick helped complete the package for Laimbeer and Carr, while the other helped bring Tolbert.
Kansas City still received the clearest standalone asset. Drew gave the franchise 376 games, 263 starts and multiple seasons as a productive starting point guard.
Final Verdict
Kings Win, A/B-. Kansas City receives an A for turning two second-rounders into five productive seasons of Drew. Detroit receives a B- because both picks retained downstream trade value, including use in the Laimbeer-Carr package, but neither pick created a clean direct return comparable to Drew's Kings tenure.