Philadelphia Acquired a Valuable Future Asset, Not Harvey Grant Himself
The June 19, 1984 draft-day trade sent Tom Sewell's rights from Philadelphia to Washington for the Bullets' 1988 first-round pick.
The transaction ledger later labels that pick as the selection used on Harvey Grant. That label can be misleading if the later chain is ignored. Philadelphia did not draft Grant and should not receive credit for his Washington career.
The 76ers used the pick as trade currency two years before the 1988 draft.
Sewell Played Only 21 NBA Games
Washington acquired Sewell after Philadelphia selected him No. 22 overall.
His NBA career lasted one season. Sewell appeared in 21 games for the 1984-85 Bullets, never started and averaged only 4.1 minutes per game.
Basketball-Reference credits him with 86 total minutes and 21 points. He shot 25.0 percent from the field and did not return to the NBA after that season.
That makes Washington's direct 1984 return extremely small.
Philadelphia Held the Pick Until the Moses Malone Deal
The 76ers kept the 1988 first-rounder for two years.
On June 16, 1986, Philadelphia packaged Moses Malone, Terry Catledge, a 1986 first-round pick and this 1988 first-round pick to Washington for Cliff Robinson and Jeff Ruland.
Because the 1988 pick was only one of four outgoing Philadelphia assets, the entire Robinson-and-Ruland return cannot be credited to the Sewell trade. The pick still had meaningful first-round value and clearly contributed to the package.
Robinson then played 131 regular-season games for Philadelphia across parts of three seasons. Ruland's Philadelphia tenure was limited by injuries, but the broader 1986 transaction shows that the pick retained enough value to help facilitate a major roster move.
Washington Reacquired Its Own Pick
The 1986 trade sent the pick back to Washington. The Bullets held it until the 1988 draft and selected Harvey Grant at No. 12.
Grant became a productive NBA forward and later had several strong Washington seasons, but those years belong to Washington's 1986 acquisition of the pick. Assigning Grant's entire career to Philadelphia's side of the 1984 Sewell trade would double-count the asset after it had changed hands again.
Why Philadelphia Wins
The comparison should stay focused on what each side actually captured from the 1984 exchange.
Washington received 21 low-minute games from Sewell. Philadelphia received two years of control over a future first-round pick and then used it as one component of a major 1986 trade.
That is not the same as directly drafting a long-term star, so an elite grade would overstate the result. It is still clearly more value than Washington received from Sewell.
Final Verdict
76ers Win, B+/D. Philadelphia earns a B+ for turning Sewell into a future first-round asset that retained enough value to help facilitate the 1986 Robinson-Ruland trade. Washington receives a D because Sewell produced only 21 games and 86 minutes before his NBA career ended. Confidence is high because the original trade, Sewell's Washington production and the 1986 re-trade of the same pick are documented in transaction records.