The Rights Trade Is Confirmed, but the Pick Outcome Is Not
New Orleans's official transaction history records that the Jazz traded 1978 fourth-round pick Mel Davis to Milwaukee on September 6, 1978 in exchange for a 1979 second-round pick with considerations. RealGM independently records Milwaukee acquiring Davis's draft rights on the same date.
Pro Sports Transactions supplies a more tentative description. Its Milwaukee transaction ledger calls the return a 1979 conditional second-round pick and includes a question about whether the condition was exercised. That uncertainty is important enough that this review does not convert the pick into a specific player without a stronger routing source.
Davis Never Played an NBA Game for Milwaukee
Davis had been selected by New Orleans at No. 74 in the 1978 draft. Milwaukee acquired his rights, and RealGM records the Bucks signing him on September 10.
The experiment ended quickly. RealGM records Milwaukee waiving Davis in October 1978, and Basketball-Reference's Melvin Davis draft page shows no NBA regular-season career. The Bucks therefore received no realized NBA playing value from the rights acquisition.
New Orleans Clearly Received Draft Consideration in the Agreement
The Jazz media guide is stronger than the legacy question mark on one point: it explicitly says the transaction was for a 1979 second-round pick with considerations. The deal was not simply Davis for nothing.
What the available record does not resolve is which second-round slot, if any, ultimately conveyed. Pro Sports Transactions treats the pick as conditional and possibly unexercised. Milwaukee's 1979 draft history still includes its own second-round selection, but that alone is not sufficient to reconstruct every possible condition, swap or reacquisition.
This review therefore preserves the contractual draft consideration without assigning a fabricated overall number.
Why the Trade Cannot Be Graded Directionally Yet
Milwaukee's branch is known: zero NBA games from Davis and no later Bucks transaction tied to his rights. New Orleans's branch is only partially known: a 1979 second-round consideration existed, but the actual conveyance and player outcome are unresolved in the cited sources.
Treating an unresolved pick as zero would be just as misleading as assigning it to an unverified player. The correct source-backed approach is to distinguish a documented consideration from an unidentified realized outcome.
The Earlier San Antonio Attempt Adds Context but Not Value
The Jazz media guide also records that New Orleans had tried to trade Davis to San Antonio in July 1978 for a 1979 third-round pick with considerations, but that transaction was cancelled when Davis failed to sign with San Antonio. That failed deal helps explain why Davis's rights were still available in September, but it is not part of Milwaukee's trade return and receives no value in this review.
Final Verdict
Insufficient Evidence, N/A/N/A. Milwaukee acquired Davis's rights and received zero NBA regular-season games. New Orleans received a contractual 1979 second-round consideration, but the exact conveyed pick and downstream player remain unresolved. Confidence is high on the trade and Davis's zero-game outcome, and low on the final pick conveyance.