Buffalo moved the 1977 No. 3 pick to Milwaukee on June 7, 1977 for Swen Nater and the first-round pick that would land at No. 13. The Bucks used No. 3 on Marques Johnson, who played 524 regular-season games for Milwaukee across seven seasons, made four All-Star teams and earned three All-NBA selections before retaining major trade value in the 1984 package for Terry Cummings, Craig Hodges and Ricky Pierce. Buffalo also received substantial value. Nater played 78 games for the Braves and 348 more after the franchise moved to San Diego, giving the franchise 426 games of elite rebounding production before he was included with Byron Scott in the 1983 Norm Nixon trade. Buffalo did not keep the No. 13 pick: three days after this deal it sent that pick to Chicago for No. 24 Larry Johnson, whose NBA career lasted four Braves games. Milwaukee still owns the stronger peak and long-term return, but Buffalo's Nater branch makes this far better than a lopsided loss.
Buffalo, Milwaukee and the league transaction ledgers agree on the core exchange. The Braves sent the 1977 first-round pick that became No. 3 Marques Johnson to Milwaukee. The Bucks sent Swen Nater plus the first-round pick that became No. 13 Tate Armstrong to Buffalo. The trade happened three days before the draft, so the pick identities were not yet actual drafted players when the teams exchanged them.
The stale version of this record credits Buffalo with Tate Armstrong as though the Braves drafted and kept him. They did not. On June 10, Buffalo traded the No. 13 pick to Chicago for a second-round pick. Chicago then drafted Armstrong at No. 13, while Buffalo used the incoming second-rounder at No. 24 on Larry Johnson. Armstrong's own transaction history confirms the full chain from Buffalo to Milwaukee, back to Buffalo, then to Chicago. Johnson provided almost no NBA return. Basketball-Reference's 1977 draft ledger lists him as Buffalo's No. 24 selection, and his player page records only four regular-season games, 38 minutes and six points before his NBA career ended in 1977-78. This review therefore credits Buffalo with the actual Johnson outcome rather than Armstrong's Chicago career.
Nater supplied far more value. He played 78 games for Buffalo in 1977-78 and averaged 15.5 points and 13.2 rebounds in 35.6 minutes per game. After the franchise moved to San Diego, he stayed for six more seasons and appeared in 348 Clippers games. Across the Buffalo and San Diego portions of the same franchise, that is 426 regular-season games. His rebounding remained a defining part of his value. He averaged 8.9 rebounds in 1978-79, then continued as a major frontcourt piece through the early 1980s. Basketball-Reference's franchise split lists 348 San Diego appearances alone, on top of the 78 Buffalo games from his first season after the trade.
On October 10, 1983, San Diego traded Nater and the rights to Byron Scott to the Lakers for Norm Nixon, Eddie Jordan and two future second-round picks. The Clippers then used those two picks in another trade for Ricky Pierce one week later. Nater clearly remained part of a valuable package, but this review does not assign the whole Nixon or Pierce return to him because Byron Scott and other assets were also involved.
Milwaukee used the No. 3 pick on Marques Johnson. He played 80 games as a rookie, then 77, 77, 76, 60, 80 and 74 over the next six seasons. That is 524 regular-season games in seven Bucks seasons. Johnson made four All-Star teams during that run and earned All-NBA First Team in 1979-80 plus All-NBA Second Team in 1980-81 and 1981-82. He also became the central scorer on the teams that restored Milwaukee to sustained playoff contention after the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar era.
Milwaukee did not lose Johnson for nothing. On September 29, 1984, the Bucks traded Johnson, Junior Bridgeman, Harvey Catchings and cash to the Clippers for Terry Cummings, Craig Hodges and Ricky Pierce. Johnson was one piece of a multi-asset outgoing package, so this review does not credit the entire incoming trio to him. His inclusion nevertheless demonstrates that the No. 3 pick still carried major transaction value seven years after the original Buffalo deal.
Bucks Win, A+/A-. Milwaukee receives an A+ because the No. 3 pick became a seven-year franchise star with four All-Star selections, three All-NBA honors and substantial later trade value. Buffalo receives an A- because Nater gave the franchise 426 games across Buffalo and San Diego, including elite first-season rebounding, and remained part of a major 1983 trade package. The recast No. 13 pick produced only four NBA games from Larry Johnson, which limits that branch. Buffalo received a very good return; Milwaukee simply converted the premium draft slot into the best player and the stronger peak outcome. Confidence is high.