The Exchange
New York acquired Billy Paultz's ABA rights from the Virginia Squires in August 1970 for a draft choice and cash. The surviving records disagree by one day: Pro Sports Transactions dates the exchange August 10, while Basketball-Reference's Nets, Squires and league transaction logs list August 11. The canonical TradeVerdicts record remains dated August 10 because that is the established source route, but the discrepancy is documented rather than silently resolved. All of the sources agree on the substance of the deal: Paultz went to New York, with a draft choice and cash going to Virginia.
Nets Return
Paultz became immediate frontcourt value. As a rookie in 1970-71 he played 83 games and averaged 14.7 points and 11.3 rebounds while shooting 52.4 percent. He stayed with the Nets for five seasons, appearing in 404 games and averaging 15.6 points and 11.2 rebounds for the franchise. He was an ABA All-Star in 1973 and 1975 as a Net, helped New York reach the 1972 ABA Finals and was a major part of the 1974 ABA championship team. The Nets' own historical feature ranks his rebounding among the best in franchise history.
Virginia Return
Virginia received cash plus an unspecified draft choice. Basketball-Reference does not identify the round, year or player outcome, and Pro Sports Transactions likewise leaves the pick details unresolved. That missing information prevents an aggressive low grade for the Squires: an unidentified pick or cash amount could have produced value that the current record cannot trace. The grade therefore reflects documented realized value rather than assuming the return was worthless.
Hindsight Comparison
The identifiable return is overwhelmingly on New York's side. Paultz supplied five seasons of starting-caliber center play, two All-Star selections with the Nets and a championship contribution. He also remained an asset at the end of the run, when New York traded him to San Antonio in September 1975. Virginia's side is much harder to reconstruct because neither the cash amount nor the draft-choice outcome is identified in the available ledgers. That uncertainty narrows how harshly the Squires can be judged, but it does not erase the scale of the value New York actually received.
Final Verdict
Nets Win, B+/C. New York receives a B+ for converting a modestly documented package into five productive seasons from Paultz, including championship and All-Star value. Virginia receives a C because the consideration is confirmed but incompletely traceable; the surviving sources do not support pretending the draft pick or cash had zero value. Confidence is medium because the transaction itself and Paultz's career are well documented while the exact date differs by one day across major ledgers and the Squires' pick outcome remains unknown. The verdict reflects only verified transaction terms and realized team value.