The Rights Transaction
Basketball-Reference's Boston, Milwaukee and league transaction pages agree on May 30, 1974: the Celtics traded George Thompson to the Bucks for cash and future considerations. Milwaukee's page separately records that the club signed Thompson that day, and the 1979 Bucks media guide describes the same sequence as rights obtained from Boston for cash and future considerations. The deal is therefore much better documented than the legacy low-confidence record suggested. What remains unresolved is not whether the trade happened, but the amount of cash and the identity of the future consideration.
Why Boston Still Controlled the Rights
Boston had selected Thompson in the fifth round of the 1969 NBA draft, but he chose the ABA and spent five seasons there with Pittsburgh and Memphis. By 1974 he was a three-time ABA All-Star and an established professional scorer. The Celtics never received NBA games from him, yet the original draft rights remained valuable enough to sell when Thompson was ready to move to the NBA. That distinction matters: Boston's realized return from this transaction is financial and contractual, not prior on-court production.
Milwaukee Gets a Proven Guard
Thompson immediately joined a Bucks team transitioning away from Oscar Robertson. He played 73 games in 1974-75 and averaged 10.7 points, 3.1 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 27.2 minutes. Basketball-Reference credits him with 1,983 minutes, 780 points and 225 assists. The scoring was lower than his ABA peak, but Milwaukee still converted cash and unspecified future consideration into a regular backcourt rotation player for nearly an entire season.
The Return Lasts Only One NBA Season
Thompson did not become a multi-year Bucks asset. His 1974-75 campaign was his only NBA season, and Basketball-Reference lists that as the end of his six-year major-league career. That limits Milwaukee's grade. Seventy-three games are meaningful, especially from a veteran who immediately absorbed more than 27 minutes per game, but there is no second season or later trade chain that compounds the value.
Boston's Consideration Cannot Be Reconstructed
The Celtics received two forms of compensation: cash and future considerations. Neither the team transaction pages nor the Bucks media guide identifies the dollar amount or specifies what the future consideration became. The archive therefore cannot responsibly turn Boston's side into a player, pick or later transaction. A financial return can still be useful, particularly for rights to a player who never appeared for Boston, but the absence of a traceable downstream asset prevents a stronger hindsight grade.
Final Verdict
Slight Bucks Edge, B/C+. Milwaukee receives a B because Thompson gave the club 73 games, nearly 2,000 minutes and double-digit scoring in his only NBA season. Boston receives a C+ because it monetized dormant draft rights through cash and future considerations, but neither component can be priced or traced to a later basketball asset. Confidence is high on the transaction structure and Thompson's Milwaukee production, with medium uncertainty limited to Boston's unspecified future consideration and cash amount. The verdict reflects only verified transaction terms and realized team value.