Golden State acquired Nate Williams from New Orleans for a 1978 second-round pick. The verdict reflects only verified transaction terms and realized team value. Williams played 46 games for Golden State to finish 1977-78 and all 81 games in 1978-79, giving the Warriors 127 regular-season appearances at 9.3 points per game across his two-season stint. New Orleans used the No. 35 pick on Tommie Green, who played 59 games as a rookie in 1978-79, averaging 3.9 points and 2.4 assists in 13.7 minutes. Green never played another NBA season, and Williams also finished his NBA career after 1978-79. The trade had no major downstream branch, so the realized comparison is direct: Golden State received more games and substantially more scoring from the veteran.
The legacy canonical record is dated January 4, 1978. Golden State's team ledger, New Orleans' team ledger, the league transaction page and Nate Williams' own transaction history all record the player-for-pick exchange on January 5. The package itself is consistent across the cited sources: Golden State sent its 1978 second-round pick to New Orleans for Williams.
Williams joined the Warriors midway through 1977-78 and appeared in 46 games after the trade. He averaged 11.2 points in only 17.7 minutes per game, shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 83.3 percent from the line. He then played all 81 games in 1978-79, averaging 8.3 points in 16.0 minutes. Across the two Golden State seasons, Williams appeared in 127 regular-season games and averaged 9.3 points overall for the franchise. That is useful realized value for a second-round pick, especially because the Warriors did not have to surrender another player or additional draft capital.
The 1978 second-round pick landed at No. 35. New Orleans used it on Tommie Green out of Southern University. Green played 59 regular-season games as a rookie in 1978-79. He averaged 3.9 points, 2.4 assists and 1.2 rebounds in 13.7 minutes. His field-goal percentage was 38.8 percent, and Basketball-Reference records negative win shares for the season. Green's NBA career ended after that one season. There is no later player or draft return attached to his departure in the cited transaction history.
Williams also finished his NBA career after 1978-79, so Golden State did not later recycle him into another player or pick. That keeps this review unusually simple compared with many trades from this era. The Warriors received 127 games and useful bench scoring. The Jazz received 59 games from the second-round selection. Both assets expired without a later transaction branch that materially changes the comparison.
The January 4 versus January 5 discrepancy is important for archival accuracy but does not alter the asset result.
Warriors Win, B+/C. Golden State receives a B+ because Williams gave the team 127 games across two seasons and roughly double Green's scoring rate while costing only a second-round pick. New Orleans receives a C because No. 35 produced 59 NBA games and some reserve playmaking, but Green lasted only one season and created no later asset branch. The trade was useful rather than transformational for Golden State, which keeps the Warriors below the top grade tiers. Confidence is high.