Boston Secured Two Veterans on Draft Night
On June 29, 1994, the Celtics sent Ed Pinckney and the rights to second-round choice Andrei Fetisov to Milwaukee for Blue Edwards and Derek Strong. Edwards had played all 82 games for the Bucks the preceding season, averaging 11.6 points, and Strong had supplied frontcourt minutes and rebounding. The exchange gave Boston two already-tested professionals for a veteran power forward and a prospect still requiring development. Milwaukee chose a different frontcourt mix as it rebuilt around a high draft pick.
Edwards and Strong Gave Boston Actual Rotation Options
Edwards brought Boston shooting, experience and wing size; Strong gave the club a physical option near the basket. Neither was acquired to reproduce the historic output of the Celtics' former championship stars. The useful question was whether both could help a changing roster without waiting on a rookie's development. Their NBA experience made them more immediately deployable than a second-round right. Those Boston seasons, rather than the earlier Milwaukee statistics used to evaluate the trade, are the direct playing return.
Milwaukee Added Pinckney and an Unproven Right
Pinckney had rebounded and defended for Boston, appearing in 76 games during 1993-94. He offered the Bucks a known veteran presence while Fetisov represented a possible longer-term frontcourt prospect. Holding international draft rights did not automatically create an NBA contributor, however, and Fetisov did not establish a Milwaukee playing career. The Bucks accepted a package whose direct NBA utility depended primarily on Pinckney, giving up two players who had already been useful in their own rotation.
The Two-for-One Player Return Favors Boston
Boston obtained a guard-forward combination that could immediately compete for regular-season minutes, while Milwaukee took one veteran and one uncertain rights asset. Edwards and Strong were role players, not newly acquired All-Stars, so the assessment must remain proportionate. Still, receiving two active veterans who could fill different lineup needs provided more dependable basketball utility than an international pick that never became a Bucks NBA fixture. The higher Celtics grade reflects that roster benefit without pretending either team changed the championship picture.
Final Verdict
Celtics Win. Boston earns B+ for adding Blue Edwards and Derek Strong, two experienced rotation options acquired for Ed Pinckney and the rights to Andrei Fetisov. Milwaukee gets C+ for Pinckney's rebounding and the speculative rights but received no NBA playing return from Fetisov. The advantage belongs to Boston's deeper usable player package.