Buffalo traded Ted McClain to Philadelphia on January 31, 1978 for a 1978 third-round pick that became No. 65 Marvin Delph. Basketball-Reference's team and league ledgers list the deal as player-for-pick, while Pro Sports Transactions also records cash going to Buffalo; the amount is not specified. McClain gave Philadelphia 29 regular-season games over the rest of 1977-78, totaling 91 points, 37 rebounds, 34 assists and 16 steals before the 76ers waived him in October 1978. Buffalo used the pick on Delph, but he never played an NBA regular-season game. Delph was later drafted again by Boston in 1979 without ever producing NBA service for the Braves/Clippers franchise. The cash creates some unquantified financial value for Buffalo, but there is no source-supported downstream basketball conversion. Philadelphia gets the modest edge because McClain supplied actual rotation minutes while Buffalo's player branch produced none.
Buffalo, Philadelphia and the league transaction ledgers all record the January 31, 1978 exchange as Ted McClain to the 76ers for a 1978 third-round pick. That pick became No. 65 Marvin Delph. Those Basketball-Reference ledgers do not list cash. Pro Sports Transactions' 1978 draft-pick ledger adds a cash component going from Philadelphia to Buffalo. This review preserves that source distinction and does not invent an amount.
McClain joined a deep Philadelphia team in the middle of the season and played 29 regular-season games after the trade. He logged 293 minutes and totaled 91 points, 37 rebounds, 34 assists and 16 steals. His role was limited. He did not start a game for Philadelphia and averaged just over ten minutes per appearance. Still, those minutes were real realized value from a third-round pick, and the 76ers received them during a season in which they remained an Eastern Conference contender. The 76ers did not retain McClain long term. Philadelphia waived him on October 11, 1978. Phoenix later signed him as a free agent in January 1979, so there was no later Philadelphia player or draft asset tied to his departure.
The Braves kept the incoming third-round pick through the 1978 draft and used it at No. 65 on Marvin Delph of Arkansas. Basketball-Reference lists Delph as a 1978 San Diego Clippers draft pick after the franchise relocation, but no NBA regular-season games appear on his player record. He was later selected again by Boston in the 1979 draft and still did not establish an NBA regular-season career. That means the pick itself produced no on-court NBA value for the Buffalo/San Diego franchise.
Pro Sports Transactions gives Buffalo an additional asset in the form of cash. That should not be erased merely because Basketball-Reference's shorter team ledgers omit it. At the same time, the cited source does not specify the amount, and no later roster transaction is tied directly to those dollars. This review therefore treats the cash as legitimate financial consideration but does not transform it into speculative player value.
Philadelphia's return was only 29 games from a reserve guard, and McClain was gone before the next regular season. Buffalo's player return was zero NBA games from Delph, although the franchise also received the undocumented-amount cash consideration. The gap is therefore much smaller than it would be if McClain had become a long-term rotation piece or Delph had developed into an NBA contributor.
76ers Edge, C+/D+. Philadelphia receives a C+ because McClain gave the team 29 useful reserve appearances and actual NBA minutes for a third-round pick. Buffalo receives a D+ because Delph never played an NBA regular-season game, with the unspecified cash providing the only remaining realized value. The 76ers come out ahead, but the trade belongs in the low-impact tier rather than among meaningful franchise swings. Confidence is high on the player and pick outcomes and moderate on the financial component because the cash amount is not specified.