The Direct Trade
Basketball-Reference's Milwaukee, Philadelphia and league transaction ledgers all place the exchange on October 10, 1972: the Bucks sent a 1973 second-round pick to the 76ers for Gary Gregor. Wayne Embry's executive ledger records the same deal. The pick later became No. 33, used by Phoenix on Gary Melchionni. Pro Sports Transactions also records cash moving from Milwaukee, and a historical Bucks media guide independently includes cash, though that guide labels the draft choice as a 1974 second-rounder. Because the team, league and same-day Phoenix chain consistently identify the asset as a 1973 second-round pick, the archive keeps 1973 as the canonical year and preserves the cash as a verified but unpriced secondary component.
Gregor's Milwaukee Stay
Milwaukee received almost no lasting NBA value from Gregor. He appeared in nine games for the Bucks, totaling 88 minutes, 27 points, 32 rebounds and nine assists. His averages were 3.0 points and 3.6 rebounds in 9.8 minutes. Pro Sports Transactions records Milwaukee waiving him on November 15, barely five weeks after the trade. Gregor then joined the New York Nets of the ABA in December and played 40 games there during 1972-73. Those ABA games demonstrate that he still had professional value, but they cannot be credited to Milwaukee after the Bucks released him.
Philadelphia's Same-Day Pick Conversion
Philadelphia did not keep the pick until draft night. On the same date, the 76ers traded a 1973 second-round selection to Phoenix for veteran center Mel Counts. The Philadelphia and Phoenix transaction ledgers both identify that selection as the pick later used on Gary Melchionni, linking Milwaukee's outgoing draft asset to the Suns transaction. Pro Sports Transactions describes the activity as a three-club transaction, while Basketball-Reference presents the Milwaukee-Philadelphia and Philadelphia-Phoenix exchanges as separate trades. For this archive, Milwaukee's canonical record remains bilateral, with Phoenix treated only as downstream pick lineage rather than a direct Bucks counterparty.
Counts and the Next Trade
Counts played only seven games for Philadelphia, logging 47 minutes and scoring ten points. His direct production was therefore even smaller than Gregor's Milwaukee stint. The difference is that Philadelphia retained transactional value. On November 2, the 76ers packaged Counts with Bill Bridges and sent them to the Los Angeles Lakers for Leroy Ellis and John Trapp. Because Bridges was a substantial part of that later package, the original Milwaukee pick cannot be credited with all of Ellis and Trapp's value. It can, however, be credited with helping Philadelphia obtain Counts, who remained a named asset in a subsequent trade less than a month later.
Why Melchionni Is Not a Philadelphia Return
The legacy asset label says the pick became Gary Melchionni, which is useful for draft-lineage identification but can be misleading if read as Philadelphia player production. Phoenix held the selection at draft time and chose Melchionni 33rd overall in 1973. He never played for Philadelphia as a result of this transaction. The source-backed record therefore keeps his name attached to the pick only as the final selection identity and marks the real Philadelphia return as the pick's same-day conversion into Counts. That distinction prevents downstream draft identity from being double-counted as 76ers on-court value.
Final Verdict
76ers Win, B/D+. Philadelphia receives a B because the second-round pick and cash gave the club immediate trade flexibility: the pick was rerouted for Counts, and Counts remained part of another trade three weeks later. The grade stops well short of elite because Counts contributed only seven Philadelphia games and cannot be assigned the full value of the later Bridges package. Milwaukee receives a D+ because Gregor played just nine games and 88 minutes before being waived. Confidence is high on the player movement, pick identity and same-day Phoenix routing, with moderate uncertainty on the cash detail because the supporting records disagree on the pick year even while agreeing that cash was included. The verdict reflects only verified transaction terms and realized team value.