The June 3 Deal Was a Straight Second-Round Pick Swap
Basketball-Reference's Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Jazz and NBA league transaction ledgers all record the same exchange: Portland sent its 1976 second-round pick to New Orleans for the Jazz's 1977 second-round pick. New Orleans used the 1976 selection at No. 26 on Jacky Dorsey, while Portland later used the 1977 selection at No. 28 on Kim Anderson. The legacy structure is correct; this review adds the actual player outcomes and distinguishes later NBA careers from value realized by the teams that owned the picks.
New Orleans Selected Jacky Dorsey but Received No NBA Games
The Jazz selected Dorsey No. 26 in the 1976 draft. Basketball-Reference lists him as playing in the Eastern Basketball Association rather than the NBA in 1976-77, and he never appeared in a regular-season game for New Orleans. Dorsey did eventually reach the NBA in 1977-78, but his first games came with Denver and later Portland. Those appearances demonstrate that the pick identified an NBA-caliber player, yet they cannot be credited to the Jazz because New Orleans did not realize that production.
Portland Waited a Year for Kim Anderson
Portland used the incoming 1977 second-round pick at No. 28 on Kim Anderson. Anderson spent 1977-78 playing professionally in Italy rather than joining the Trail Blazers immediately. He reached Portland in 1978-79 and appeared in 21 games, averaging 3.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 10.7 minutes. The production was limited and his field-goal percentage was only 31.2 percent, but the pick did eventually generate real NBA minutes for the team that acquired it.
The Later Dorsey Career Does Not Reverse the Jazz Outcome
Dorsey played 11 NBA games across Denver and Portland in 1977-78 and later appeared for Houston. Those games matter to his career history but not to the realized return from this New Orleans trade. A draft pick's hindsight value should follow the team that actually retained and used the player, not automatically inherit every game the drafted player later produced elsewhere. That rule prevents the Jazz from receiving credit for Dorsey's Denver, Portland or Houston appearances after he failed to play for New Orleans.
The Difference Remains Small Because Anderson's Portland Role Was Small
Portland's 21 games from Anderson are enough to separate the outcomes, but not enough to make this a major win. Anderson totaled only 224 minutes in his lone Trail Blazers season and scored 63 points. New Orleans received no direct NBA games from Dorsey, but the Jazz did secure a second-round prospect one year earlier than the pick they surrendered. The swap therefore remains a low-value transaction where the grade gap should be compressed rather than inflated.
Final Verdict
Slight Blazers Edge, C+/C. Portland receives a C+ because the 1977 No. 28 pick eventually produced 21 Trail Blazers games from Kim Anderson, even though the contribution was modest and delayed by a season in Italy. New Orleans receives a C because the 1976 No. 26 pick became Jacky Dorsey, who never played an NBA regular-season game for the Jazz. Dorsey's later NBA career belongs to other teams and does not erase that zero-game New Orleans outcome. Confidence is high on the pick swap and draft outcomes. The verdict reflects only verified transaction terms and realized team value.