Houston acquired Joe Bryant and the No. 42 pick in the 1982 draft from San Diego for the No. 32 pick. Bryant played 81 regular-season games for the Rockets in 1982-83, starting 56 and averaging 10.0 points. Houston used No. 42 on Jeff Taylor, who added 44 games and five starts as a rookie. San Diego used No. 32 on Richard Anderson, who played 78 games and started five for the Clippers before moving to Denver. Houston therefore received 125 direct regular-season games and 61 starts from its two incoming assets against 78 games and five starts for San Diego, giving the Rockets the stronger realized return.
The June 28, 1982 transaction sent Joe Bryant and San Diego's No. 42 draft pick to Houston for the Rockets' No. 32 selection. Both draft picks became NBA players, which makes the deal more useful to grade through direct franchise production rather than draft reputation. Houston received immediate value from Bryant plus a second rotation player from the later pick.
Bryant played 81 regular-season games for the Rockets in 1982-83 and started 56. He averaged 25.4 minutes, 10.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Houston struggled to a 14-68 record, so Bryant's season did not translate into team success. Still, he was a regular starter and one of the more experienced players on a rebuilding roster. That was Bryant's only NBA season in Houston and the final NBA season of his playing career before he continued professionally overseas.
Houston used the No. 42 pick on Texas Tech guard Jeff Taylor. Taylor appeared in 44 regular-season games as a rookie, started five and averaged 17.6 minutes, 3.6 points and 2.5 assists. He was waived the following season, so his Houston contribution was limited to that one year. Even so, the pick produced a real rotation player rather than a zero-game branch.
The Clippers used No. 32 on UC Santa Barbara big man Richard Anderson. He played 78 regular-season games for San Diego in 1982-83, made five starts and averaged 5.2 points and 3.5 rebounds. Anderson later had a six-year NBA career, but only that rookie season belongs to San Diego for this trade. He played for Denver in 1983-84 and never returned to the Clippers. The direct Clippers return was therefore 78 games and five starts.
Bryant and Taylor combined for 125 regular-season games and 61 starts in Houston. Anderson gave San Diego 78 games and five starts. The Clippers selected a player who ultimately had the longest NBA career of the three, but most of that career happened elsewhere. Franchise-specific realized value favors the Rockets because Bryant supplied a full starting season and Taylor added another 44 appearances.
Rockets Win, B/C+. Houston receives a B for extracting one season of starting production from Bryant plus 44 games from Taylor. San Diego receives a C+ because Anderson was a useful rookie rotation player, but his later career cannot be credited to the Clippers and the direct return was smaller.