Best Los Angeles Lakers trades of all time: 12. Landing Byron Scott
Nixon had been an excellent player for the Lakers for six seasons, including sharing point guard duties with Magic Johnson the last four years. He was an outstanding ballhandler and passer, and an adept mid-range shooter. But after the Lakers were swept by the 76ers in the 1983 Finals, they decided a change needed to be made.
Specifically, management wanted Magic to become the team’s full-time PG. And because he was never a top defender, they also wanted to pair him with a taller backcourt mate who was better able than Nixon to defend the opponent’s top offensive guard.
Scott was a perfect fit for the Showtime Lakers, soaring for dunks off the fast break, becoming the team’s best outside shooter and defending well. He averaged 15 PPG over 11 seasons while shooting 49% overall and 37% from behind the arc.
Nater had been an excellent center earlier in his career, but he only played one season with the Lakers, playing just 12 minutes a game and posting 4.5 PPG and 4 RPG.
Nixon went on to have three excellent years with the Clippers, averaging 15 points and nearly 10 assists per game. But injuries to his knee and Achilles tendon shortened his career, and after missing two full seasons he was not the same player in his final comeback year with the Clippers.
Jordan was waived and never played for the Clippers and Dalrymple never played a game in the NBA. But Hornacek became a sterling guard, averaging 14.5 points and 5 assists in a 14-season career for Phoenix, Philadelphia and Utah.
On paper it might look like the Lakers gave away at least as much as they got in this trade. But Hornacek wasn’t drafted until three years later and he took a couple of years to reach his peak. The Lakers needed immediate help and found it in Scott, who averaged double-figure points in his first 10 years with the team, during which they made the Finals six times and won three titles.