The Verified Exchange
Basketball-Reference's Chicago, Philadelphia and league transaction pages agree on the February 13, 1974 transaction: the Bulls sent Larry Cannon to the 76ers for a future draft pick. Dick Motta's executive ledger repeats the same wording, and Chicago's official historical transaction guide also records a future draft choice without supplying a year or round. That is enough to verify the trade itself at high confidence. It is not enough to identify Chicago's eventual basketball return, which is the central question for a hindsight verdict.
Cannon's Unusual Route to the NBA
Cannon had been Chicago's fifth overall pick in the 1969 NBA draft but began his professional career in the ABA. He became an All-ABA guard with Denver in 1970-71, then missed the 1972-73 season because of a blood disorder and appeared in only three Indiana Pacers games early in 1973-74. The February trade brought his NBA rights to his hometown 76ers. Basketball-Reference lists February 20, 1974 as his NBA debut, one week after the transaction. That history makes the deal more than a routine reserve swap, but it also explains why his remaining career value was difficult to project.
Philadelphia's Direct Return
Cannon played 19 games for Philadelphia in 1973-74 and never appeared in another NBA season. He averaged 6.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 17.6 minutes per game. His totals were 335 minutes, 117 points, 36 rebounds and 52 assists. He did not start a game. The 76ers were still rebuilding after their nine-win 1972-73 season, so Cannon's role provided some backcourt depth without becoming a long-term piece. The direct player return is therefore measurable but brief.
The Pick Cannot Be Traced Safely
The Chicago side is where the record stops. The 1973-74 Bulls transaction page calls the return a future draft pick. The 1974-75 Bulls page lists several draft and trade assets but does not identify any of them as the Cannon pick. Chicago's official all-time transaction guide likewise says only 'future draft choice.' The reviewed Philadelphia transaction pages do not later identify a conveyed selection either. Without a source connecting a specific year, round, slot or player to this trade, assigning one of Chicago's later picks to Cannon would be guesswork.
Why a Winner Would Be Misleading
Philadelphia received only 19 games, so it would be tempting to assume Chicago won simply by receiving any future selection. That shortcut would be unsound. The pick could have been late, could have been conditional, could have failed to convey, or could have produced no NBA player. Conversely, Philadelphia's 19 games were modest enough that calling the 76ers the winner without knowing the pick would be equally weak. Hindsight grading only works when the major assets can be followed to an outcome. Here, one entire side remains unidentified.
Archive Treatment
The source-backed record therefore records two facts separately. Cannon is a verified Philadelphia return with 19 NBA games, and Chicago's future pick is a verified but unresolved asset. The pick remains marked unresolved rather than being attached to Steve Green, John Laskowski or any other later Bulls selection merely because those players appear in nearby drafts. That preserves the transaction's historical accuracy and avoids creating a false draft lineage that could contaminate player and team pages downstream.
Final Verdict
Insufficient Evidence. No winner or team grade is assigned. Confidence is high that the February 13 trade occurred exactly as recorded and high on Cannon's Philadelphia production, but the future draft choice cannot be traced to a realized outcome in the reviewed sources. Cannon's 19-game stint is too small to justify overriding that missing information. The correct archive decision is to complete the source-backed review while leaving the directional verdict open until a reliable pick lineage is found. The verdict reflects only verified transaction terms and realized team value.