Indiana traded Don Sidle to the Memphis Pros on December 17, 1971 for Larry Cannon. Cannon gave the Pacers 28 regular-season games after the trade, totaling 478 minutes while averaging 6.6 points and 2.6 assists, then missed the entire 1972-73 season because of a blood disorder. He returned for only three Indiana games in 1973-74 before being waived. Sidle produced a slightly larger direct return for Memphis, playing 42 games and 566 minutes while averaging 7.1 points and 3.3 rebounds before San Diego selected him in the 1972 ABA expansion draft. Both returns were short, but Memphis received modestly more realized court value.
Basketball-Reference's Indiana, Memphis and league transaction logs all record the December 17, 1971 player-for-player trade: the Pacers sent Don Sidle to the Memphis Pros for Larry Cannon. There are no draft choices, cash terms or later-named players to reconcile, so the hindsight comparison can stay focused on what each player actually delivered after the trade. Both players were already established ABA veterans, but neither became a long-term piece for the acquiring club.
Cannon's role dropped sharply after the move. He had averaged 16.8 points in 26 Memphis games before the trade, then played 28 games for Indiana at 17.1 minutes per game, averaging 6.6 points and 2.6 assists. He totaled 478 minutes and made four starts as the Pacers moved toward a 47-win season and the 1972 ABA championship. The roster context is favorable, but the trade should not be credited with Indiana's team championship as though Cannon drove it; his individual regular-season role was modest. Cannon then missed all of 1972-73 because of a blood disorder, returned for only three Pacers games in 1973-74 and was waived on February 5, 1974.
Sidle gave Memphis the larger immediate workload. He appeared in 42 games after the trade, totaling 566 minutes while averaging 7.1 points and 3.3 rebounds in 13.5 minutes. He scored 300 points and collected 139 rebounds for a 26-win Pros team. Those numbers are modest, but they exceed Cannon's post-trade Indiana totals in games, minutes and points. Sidle's Memphis tenure also ended quickly: the San Diego Conquistadors selected him in the August 10, 1972 ABA expansion draft, so the Pros received no later trade asset in return.
This is a small trade with a small gap. Memphis got 42 games and 566 minutes from Sidle; Indiana got 28 games and 478 minutes from Cannon in 1971-72, then three more games two seasons later. Cannon's illness makes the long-term Pacers return especially limited, but it would be misleading to treat that medical development as something Indiana should have perfectly predicted. The source-backed verdict therefore stays narrow. Sidle's one partial season is enough to give Memphis the edge on realized value, while Cannon still provided meaningful reserve minutes to a championship-season roster. Neither player generated a durable downstream asset for the club that acquired him.
Sounds Win, B-/C+. Memphis receives a B- because Sidle supplied 42 games and a slightly larger minutes-and-scoring contribution before the 1972 expansion draft ended his tenure. Indiana receives a C+ because Cannon provided 28 games in 1971-72 and three more in 1973-74, but illness erased the intervening season and he was eventually waived. Confidence is high because the exchange, direct production, Cannon's missed season and Sidle's expansion-draft exit are all documented. The margin remains modest rather than decisive. The verdict reflects only verified transaction terms and realized team value.