Houston acquired Slick Watts from New Orleans on September 21, 1978 for a 1981 first-round pick. Watts gave the Rockets 61 regular-season games in 1978-79, averaging 3.7 points and 4.0 assists in 17.1 minutes, and that season proved to be the end of his NBA career. The Jazz held Houston's pick until 1981 and used it at No. 13 on Danny Schayes. Schayes played 132 games for Utah across his first two seasons, including 50 starts and averages of 12.4 points and 9.0 rebounds in his second season. Utah then traded Schayes with cash to Denver for Rich Kelley, who added 184 regular-season games for the Jazz through 1984-85. The trade therefore produced one useful backup season for Houston but a much longer player-and-downstream branch for the Jazz.
Houston, New Orleans and the league transaction ledgers all record the September 21, 1978 trade the same way. The Rockets sent a future 1981 first-round pick to the Jazz for Slick Watts. The pick is also fully traceable. Basketball-Reference's 1981 draft ledger lists Utah at No. 13 selecting Danny Schayes, matching the earlier transaction logs.
Watts was no longer the high-minute Seattle guard who had made the All-Defensive First Team earlier in his career, but Houston did receive real production. He played 61 games for the Rockets in 1978-79 and averaged 17.1 minutes, 3.7 points, 4.0 assists and 1.2 steals. He also appeared in two playoff games for Houston. His player record ends after the 1978-79 season, so the Rockets received one season of backup point-guard value and no later transaction branch from the acquired player. That is too much realized value for an F, but it is still a short return for a future first-round pick.
Utah kept Houston's first until the 1981 draft and selected Schayes at No. 13. The draft ledger records an 18-season NBA career, making the pick a productive asset even before narrowing the evaluation to his Jazz years. Schayes played all 82 games as a rookie in 1981-82, starting 20 and averaging 7.9 points and 5.2 rebounds in 19.8 minutes. His role expanded sharply in 1982-83. He played 50 games for Utah, started all 50 and averaged 12.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 blocks in 32.8 minutes before the Jazz moved him during the season. That gives Utah 132 direct regular-season games from the pick, including 70 starts and a full season-plus of meaningful center production.
On February 7, 1983, Utah traded Schayes and cash to Denver for Rich Kelley. The Jazz transaction ledger and both player histories agree on the package. Kelley immediately played 32 games for Utah in the rest of 1982-83 and averaged 7.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists. He stayed for 75 games in 1983-84 and 77 more in 1984-85. That creates 184 additional regular-season Jazz games from the direct downstream trade of Schayes. Kelley was not a star, but he became a multi-season rotation center and started 87 games for Utah across those three partial/full seasons. Kelley's own player history records that he later signed with Sacramento as a veteran free agent and Utah received cash compensation. This review notes that terminal branch without assigning speculative value to an unspecified cash amount.
Houston's return was immediate and real, but brief: 61 games from a reserve guard in the final NBA season of his career. Utah waited nearly three years for the pick, then converted it into a first-round center who played 132 games and developed into a full-time starter. The Jazz then turned Schayes, with cash added, into Kelley and received another 184 games of rotation-center production. The downstream Kelley value cannot be treated as free because Utah included cash with Schayes, but the central point does not depend on over-crediting the branch. Schayes alone already supplied more direct service and a larger role than Watts did for Houston.
Jazz Win, B+/D+. Utah receives a B+ because the Houston first became No. 13 Danny Schayes, who supplied 132 games and 70 starts before helping return Rich Kelley, another 184-game Jazz contributor. Houston receives a D+ because Watts did provide 61 games and useful backup passing, but the acquired player lasted one season and produced no later asset. The original F legacy for Houston understated his actual on-court contribution, while the Jazz's longer first-round branch supports the clear hindsight edge. Confidence is high.