The Exchange
Basketball-Reference's Houston, Milwaukee and league transaction logs agree on the December 9, 1971 structure: Houston sent Curtis Perry and a 1972 first-round pick to Milwaukee for Greg Smith and a 1973 third-round pick. The draft outcomes are also explicit. Milwaukee used the acquired first-rounder at No. 6 on Russ Lee, while Houston used the third-rounder at No. 51 on E.C. Coleman. That makes this a useful hindsight trade because every major asset can be traced without guessing at pick lineage or inventing missing consideration.
Milwaukee Return
Perry became the best realized asset in the deal. After playing 25 games for Houston before the trade, he appeared in 50 Bucks games in 1971-72, then 67 in 1972-73 and 81 in 1973-74. He averaged 9.6 rebounds in 1972-73 and 8.7 in 1973-74, giving Milwaukee a durable frontcourt complement around Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Perry also remained in the rotation during the 1974 playoff run that reached Game 7 of the NBA Finals, including minutes in all seven Finals games. The acquired first-round pick produced less than its draft slot suggested: Lee played 46 Bucks games as a rookie in 1972-73, averaging 6.0 minutes and 2.8 points, but he still represented real additional value from the same package.
Houston Return
Smith gave Houston the stronger half of its immediate return. He played 54 games after the trade in 1971-72, averaging 28.1 minutes, 9.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists. He appeared in only four Rockets games the following season before Houston traded him to Portland for Stan McKenzie. McKenzie then gave the Rockets 37 games across 1972-73 and 1973-74, so Smith retained a small amount of downstream value after his own Houston tenure ended. Coleman, the No. 51 pick from the deal, added 58 games as a rookie in 1973-74 at 18.5 minutes per game before New Orleans selected him from Houston in the 1974 expansion draft. The Rockets therefore received two useful rotation pieces plus a modest downstream player return, not an empty package.
Asset-Value Comparison
The difference is duration and role. Perry alone produced 198 Milwaukee regular-season games after the trade, plus meaningful playoff minutes on a contender. Houston's direct Smith and Coleman total reached 116 games, and the later McKenzie return added another 37 low-minute appearances. Lee was a disappointing No. 6 pick, but even his 46 Bucks games sit on top of Perry's much larger contribution. Neither side extracted a star from the draft capital. The first-round pick's realized result was modest, while the third-round pick actually became the longer NBA player in Coleman. That draft irony narrows the gap, yet it does not erase Perry's three-season Bucks tenure or his role during Milwaukee's run to the 1974 Finals.
Final Verdict
Bucks Win, A-/B. Milwaukee receives an A- because Perry became a durable multi-year frontcourt contributor and the acquired first-round pick still produced 46 games from Lee. Houston receives a B because Smith supplied a strong partial season, Coleman gave the Rockets 58 useful rookie games and Smith later returned Stan McKenzie in another trade. The result is clearly favorable to Milwaukee without treating Lee's draft slot as if it automatically became star value. Confidence is high because the exchange, both draft outcomes, player production and Smith's downstream trade are all documented in transaction and statistical records. The verdict reflects only verified transaction terms and realized team value.