Reconciling the December Date
Basketball-Reference's Lakers, New Orleans and NBA league transaction ledgers all date the Stu Lantz trade to December 6, 1974. Pro Sports Transactions' 1975 draft-trade ledger records the deal one day earlier, December 5. The package itself is consistent across the sources: Los Angeles received Lantz and New Orleans received the Lakers' 1975 third-round draft asset, later used at No. 38 on Jim McElroy. The specialist draft ledger also lists cash, while Basketball-Reference does not. The source-backed record therefore uses December 6 as the canonical transaction date, preserves the one-day source conflict in audit metadata and treats the cash amount as unresolved rather than inventing a value.
Lantz Gave the Lakers Two Useful Seasons
Lantz had played 19 games for the expansion Jazz before the trade. In Los Angeles he immediately moved into a larger role, appearing in 56 games in 1974-75 and averaging 9.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 25.5 minutes. He returned for 53 games in 1975-76 at 4.7 points and 1.4 assists in 16.1 minutes. Basketball-Reference credits him with 109 regular-season games for the Lakers across those two seasons. The first year supplied meaningful rotation value, while the second was a smaller bench role.
The Lakers Did Not Create a Downstream Asset
Lantz did not play in 1976-77 because of a back injury and never returned to an NBA regular-season game. That means Los Angeles received two seasons of direct production but no later trade return, draft compensation or sale value from the asset. The trade should not be treated as a failure for the Lakers because Lantz was a real contributor, yet its value ended with the 109 games he played. The absence of a downstream conversion becomes important when compared with what New Orleans received from the draft pick.
McElroy Became a Four-Year Jazz Guard
New Orleans used the acquired third-round pick at No. 38 on Jim McElroy, a Central Michigan guard. He played 51 games as a rookie in 1975-76 and then 73, 74 and 79 games over the next three seasons. Basketball-Reference's franchise trade comparison credits McElroy with 277 regular-season games for New Orleans, averaging 11.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists in those Jazz games. That is a substantial return from a third-round pick and clearly exceeds the direct volume Los Angeles received from Lantz.
The Cash Note Only Strengthens the Jazz Side
Pro Sports Transactions also records cash going from Los Angeles to New Orleans, but the amount is not preserved in the reviewed record. Because the cash cannot be priced, it should not be converted into a fictional player-equivalent value or used to inflate a grade numerically. It still matters directionally: if the specialist ledger is correct, New Orleans received additional consideration on top of the pick that became McElroy. The verdict does not depend on that cash, however, because McElroy's four-season Jazz tenure already provides the stronger realized basketball return.
Final Verdict
Jazz Win, A+/B. New Orleans receives an A+ because a third-round pick became McElroy, who supplied 277 regular-season games and four years of guard production, with an additional unresolved cash component listed by the specialist draft ledger. Los Angeles receives a B because Lantz gave the Lakers 109 useful games across two seasons, especially a productive first year, but the asset ended with his back injury and retirement from NBA play. Confidence is high on the package, player identities and outcomes, and medium-high on the exact transaction date because of the December 5 versus December 6 source conflict. The verdict reflects only verified transaction terms and realized team value.