A Third Team Is Important to the John Best Pick Chain
The rights associated with the No. 36 pick in 1993 reached New Jersey on June 30, with Washington receiving cash or future financial consideration under the inherited trade record. The pick had originally passed from Denver to Washington in the June 1991 Michael Adams transaction, and Denver selected John Best at No. 36 before the rights changed hands. League transaction lists separately describe Denver selling the player rights to Best to the Nets, so the precise Washington–Denver paper trail warrants reconciliation. The transaction is a draft-rights purchase, not a veteran player-for-player exchange; no NBA playing season should be manufactured for Best.
The Nets Acquired an Opportunity Rather Than Court Production
New Jersey obtained rights to a second-round prospect, a comparatively inexpensive mechanism for evaluating talent outside the first round. Best played college basketball at Tennessee Tech, but he did not establish a regular-season NBA career for the Nets. The trade therefore generated an asset the club could hold or evaluate, not recorded points, rebounds or starts. The Nets’ C+ inherited grade represents speculative draft-right value relative to a small cash payment. Readers should not confuse the No. 36 selection with a player who later generated NBA minutes for New Jersey, and the original club that owned the selection must be tracked separately.
Washington’s Consideration Was Cash, Not Another Pick
The Washington side of the canonical asset ledger lists future considerations in cash. No named NBA player or additional first-round choice came back to the Bullets, so their C grade cannot be justified using unrelated later draft outcomes. The immediate economic benefit and lack of developmental risk explain why a small cash-for-rights transaction can receive modest grades on both sides even without an NBA star. Historical reports conflict over whether Washington or Denver formally conveyed the specific rights to Best, and that provenance issue should be checked before editing the canonical draft-chain description. The analysis does not attribute unsupported court production to either club.
Final Verdict
Slight Nets Edge. New Jersey receives C+ for acquiring the No. 36 John Best draft rights, but no Nets regular-season NBA production followed. Washington grades C for cash or financial consideration. The middle step in the Denver–Washington–New Jersey draft-right chain remains a provenance question rather than a claimed settled fact.