Detroit acquired Don Adams from Atlanta on October 31, 1972 for a 1973 second-round pick that became No. 27 Tom Ingelsby. Adams gave the Pistons 195 regular-season games across parts of three seasons, averaging 9.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 70 games immediately after the trade and 10.3 points with 6.1 rebounds the next year. Atlanta used the pick on Ingelsby, who played 48 NBA games for the Hawks as a rookie before moving to the ABA. Detroit receives the clear hindsight edge because Adams became a durable rotation forward while the draft return produced only one short NBA season.
Basketball-Reference's Atlanta, Detroit and league transaction ledgers agree on the October 31, 1972 trade: the Hawks sent Don Adams to the Pistons for Detroit's 1973 second-round pick. Edwin Coil's Detroit executive record confirms the same structure. Atlanta later used the selection at No. 27 on Villanova guard Tom Ingelsby. No cash, future consideration or additional player appears in the reviewed transaction logs, so the canonical record remains a direct player-for-pick deal.
Adams had played only four games for Atlanta in 1972-73 before the trade. With Detroit, his role expanded sharply. He appeared in 70 games that season, averaging 9.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 25.7 minutes. Basketball-Reference credits him with 1,798 minutes, 649 points and 419 rebounds for the Pistons after the move. The production was not star-level, but Detroit converted one future second-round pick into an established frontcourt rotation player almost immediately.
Adams became even more important in 1973-74. He played 74 games and averaged 10.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 31.1 minutes. Detroit went 52-30 and reached the Western Conference semifinals, and Adams also appeared in seven playoff games at 36.6 minutes per contest. That season is the strongest evidence for Detroit's side of the trade: a second-round asset produced starter-level minutes on one of the league's better teams.
Adams remained with Detroit for 51 games in 1974-75, averaging 5.9 points and 4.8 rebounds in 27.0 minutes. On February 18, 1975, the Pistons waived him. His Detroit tenure therefore ended without a trade return, but by then the club had already received 195 regular-season appearances across parts of three seasons. The absence of a downstream asset limits the ceiling on Detroit's grade, yet the quantity of direct play comfortably exceeds a typical second-round outcome.
The Hawks used the acquired selection on Tom Ingelsby with the 27th pick of the 1973 draft. Ingelsby played 48 games for Atlanta in 1973-74, averaging 2.7 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 8.3 minutes. His total NBA production for the Hawks was 398 minutes and 129 points. He did not appear for Atlanta again after that rookie season; his later professional games came in the ABA with the Spirits of St. Louis and San Diego Sails. Those games cannot be credited to the Hawks' side of this transaction.
Atlanta did at least turn Adams into a real NBA player rather than a failed draft pick. Ingelsby reached the league and supplied 48 games, which keeps the Hawks from receiving the lowest possible grade. The difference is scale. Adams gave Detroit more than four times as many regular-season games, thousands more minutes and two seasons of substantial frontcourt responsibility. The 1973-74 Pistons also used him in a serious playoff rotation, while Ingelsby's Atlanta role never grew beyond limited reserve minutes.
Pistons Win, A-/C. Detroit receives an A- because Adams produced 195 regular-season games, a 10.3-point season and meaningful playoff minutes after being acquired for one second-round pick. Atlanta receives a C because No. 27 pick Tom Ingelsby reached the NBA but supplied only 48 games and one limited season for the Hawks before leaving the league. Confidence is high on the trade mechanics, pick identity, player production and Adams' 1975 waiver. The verdict reflects only verified transaction terms and realized team value.