The Package Is Verified, With a One-Day Date Conflict
Basketball-Reference's Denver, New York and league transaction ledgers record the Nuggets sending 1978 third- and fourth-round picks to the Nets for Ted McClain on September 15, 1976. Denver's official franchise history also uses September 15 and explicitly adds cash to the package. RealGM dates McClain's acquisition one day earlier, September 14, matching the canonical TradeVerdicts record. This review preserves September 14 as the canonical date but treats the package itself as high confidence: McClain for the two identified picks plus cash.
McClain Became a Major Rotation Guard for Denver
McClain immediately took on a real role in Denver's first NBA season. He appeared in 72 regular-season games and logged 2,002 minutes, averaging 8.2 points, 4.5 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 27.8 minutes per game. Denver won 50 games and finished first in the Midwest Division. McClain was not the team's star, but he was a genuine rotation guard on one of the league's better teams rather than a short-term roster flier.
He Also Played Meaningful Postseason Minutes
Denver's season ended in a six-game conference semifinal loss to Portland, and McClain appeared in all six games. He averaged 28.3 minutes, 7.3 points, 4.5 assists and 1.7 steals in the series. Those postseason minutes strengthen the realized return because they show his regular-season role carried into the playoffs. The Nuggets received exactly the kind of immediate veteran depth a contending team could use during the ABA-to-NBA transition.
Denver Recovered a Pick When McClain Left
McClain's Denver tenure lasted one season, but his departure still produced an additional asset. Buffalo signed him as a veteran free agent in October 1977 and sent Denver a 1978 third-round pick as compensation. The Nuggets used that selection at No. 46 on Hollis Copeland. Copeland did not play a regular-season game for Denver and was later an NBA player with New York, so this review does not credit his 93 career games as Nuggets production. Even so, the compensation shows Denver retained some asset value after already receiving a full season from McClain.
New Jersey's Two Picks Produced No Nets Games
The Nets used Denver's original 1978 third-round pick at No. 62 on Dave Batton and the fourth-rounder at No. 84 on Walter Jordan. Both eventually reached the NBA, but neither played a regular-season game for New Jersey. Batton did not debut until 1982 and finished with 58 career games. Jordan spent two seasons outside the NBA before playing 30 games for Cleveland in 1980-81. Those later careers belong to other teams. For this trade, the Nets' draft return created option value but no direct on-court production.
The Cash Helps New Jersey but Is Not Priced
Denver's official media guide explicitly says cash accompanied the two picks. Basketball-Reference's transaction ledgers omit the cash component, and the amount is not identified in the reviewed record. This review therefore recognizes cash as a documented part of the package without assigning it a speculative dollar value. It raises the Nets' return above a pure two-pick miss, but it cannot offset a full season and playoff role from McClain on realized basketball value alone.
Final Verdict
Nuggets Win, B+/C. Denver receives a B+ because McClain played 72 games, logged more than 2,000 regular-season minutes, contributed throughout the playoffs and later generated a third-round compensation pick when Buffalo signed him. New Jersey receives a C because it obtained two real draft assets plus documented cash, but Dave Batton and Walter Jordan produced no Nets regular-season games and the cash amount is unknown. Confidence is high on the package and player outcomes; the only structural uncertainty is whether the transaction should be dated September 14 or September 15, 1976.