1950 NBA Trades

This legacy listing is retained only as a disputed historical record and is not treated as a separate NBA trade.

Fort Wayne traded Bob Harris to the Boston Celtics for Dick Mehen on December 19, 1950. Harris became useful Boston depth, playing 44 games that season at 5.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, with brief Celtics appearances in later seasons. Mehen gave Fort Wayne 43 games at 6.5 points and 2.8 rebounds, then became part of a May 1951 package with Howie Schultz and cash that brought All-Star guard Frankie Brian to the Pistons. That downstream conversion creates the decisive value gap. Boston received a serviceable role player, but Fort Wayne turned Mehen into both immediate production and a major second asset.

Tri-Cities traded Noble Jorgensen and cash to the Syracuse Nationals for Ed Peterson on December 13, 1950. Peterson became a useful short-term center for the Blackhawks, averaging 7.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 36 games, but his NBA career ended after the season. Jorgensen immediately gave Syracuse more scoring and stayed far longer: 9.3 points and 5.5 rebounds across 41 games in 1950-51, followed by 66 games in 1951-52 and 70 in 1952-53. With cash also going to Syracuse, the Nationals received the stronger immediate and long-term return.

Minneapolis sold Ed Beach's player rights to the Tri-Cities Blackhawks for cash on December 11, 1950. Beach had played 11 games for the Lakers as a rookie, averaging 2.0 points and 2.3 rebounds, after Minneapolis selected him in the fifth round of the 1950 NBA Draft. He appeared only once for Tri-Cities, recording no points and one assist, and never played another NBA game. The cash amount is not preserved in the reviewed public records. Minneapolis gets the slight historical edge because it converted a fringe roster asset into cash while Tri-Cities received only one game of on-court value.

Syracuse sold Belus Smawley's player rights to the Baltimore Bullets for cash on December 10, 1950. Smawley had averaged 7.8 points in 16 games for the Nationals that season, then became one of Baltimore's leading scorers. He played 44 games for the Bullets at 13.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, then returned for 11 more games in 1951-52. The sale price is not preserved in the reviewed public records. Baltimore gets the clear historical edge because the purchase produced 55 games and a major immediate scoring increase, while Syracuse's financial return cannot be quantified.

Fort Wayne sold John Hargis' player rights to the Tri-Cities Blackhawks for cash on December 8, 1950. Hargis had played 14 games for the Pistons that season, averaging 4.8 points and 2.1 rebounds, after a 10.7-point season with Anderson the year before. He then appeared in 15 games for Tri-Cities at 3.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists before his NBA career ended. The cash amount is not preserved. Tri-Cities received a short stretch of usable depth, while Fort Wayne monetized a player it was ready to move, leaving the trade close to even with only a slight Blackhawks edge in realized on-court value.

Fort Wayne acquired Don Otten's player rights from the Baltimore Bullets for cash on December 8, 1950, only nine days after Baltimore had obtained those rights from the Washington Capitols. Otten played just two games for Baltimore before the sale, then became a regular Fort Wayne center. He appeared in 49 Pistons games in 1950-51, averaging 8.4 points and 6.0 rebounds, and returned for seven more games the next season before his release. The cash amount is not preserved. Fort Wayne gets the historical win because the purchase produced 56 games of useful frontcourt service while Baltimore's return cannot be quantified beyond the cash payment.

Boston traded Kenny Sailors and Brady Walker to the Baltimore Bullets for Dick Mehen on December 1, 1950. Baltimore received the larger immediate return: Sailors played 50 games for the Bullets at 9.5 points and 2.8 assists per game, while Walker played 49 games at 7.5 points and 6.6 rebounds. Mehen lasted only seven games in Boston at 6.3 points and 3.7 rebounds before the Celtics traded him to Fort Wayne for Bob Harris on December 19. Harris then gave Boston 44 games that season. The downstream return softens Boston's loss, but Baltimore still got more direct value from the exchange.

Syracuse sold Ed Bartels' player rights to the Baltimore Bullets for cash on November 29, 1950. The transaction is well documented in Syracuse, Baltimore and league records, but Bartels' playing timeline makes the realized return unusually murky: he had signed with the Washington Capitols before the sale, played 17 games for Washington in 1950-51, and never appeared for Baltimore. The reviewed public sources do not preserve the cash amount or explain how Baltimore's rights position interacted with Bartels' Washington contract. Syracuse therefore gets a slight archival edge for converting the rights into cash, while Baltimore has no documented on-court return from the purchase.

Rochester sold Ed Mikan's player rights to the Washington Capitols for cash on November 29, 1950. Mikan had played 10 games for the Royals that season before the sale, averaging 4.3 points and 2.5 rebounds. He then became a much larger part of Washington's rotation, averaging 8.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists across 18 games before the Capitols folded in January 1951. The cash amount is not preserved. Washington gets a narrow historical edge because it received meaningful short-term production, but the franchise shutdown limits the duration of that return while Rochester converted a reserve into immediate financial value.

Boston purchased Harry Boykoff's player rights from the Baltimore Bullets for cash on November 5, 1950. Boykoff immediately became a rotation center, playing 32 games for the Celtics at 6.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Boston then traded him to the Tri-Cities Blackhawks on February 3, 1951 for Kleggie Hermsen, who played 23 games for the Celtics that season and four more in 1952-53. The sale price is not preserved, so Baltimore's financial return cannot be measured. Boston gets the historical edge because the rights purchase produced useful short-term play and a second player through the later Boykoff-for-Hermsen trade.

Boston acquired Bob Brannum's player rights from the Sheboygan Red Skins for cash on September 23, 1950. Brannum did not play in the NBA during 1950-51, spending that season in the NPBL, but he joined the Celtics in 1951-52 and stayed four seasons. He appeared in 279 regular-season games for Boston, averaging 6.2 points and 7.0 rebounds, after having averaged 12.1 points for Sheboygan in 1949-50. The sale price is not preserved in the reviewed public records. Boston gets the clear historical edge because an undisclosed cash purchase ultimately produced four seasons of durable frontcourt service.

New York traded Paul Noel to the Rochester Royals for Ray Ellefson on August 10, 1950, correcting the legacy August 15 intake date. Noel became the more durable piece, appearing in 52 games for Rochester during its 1950-51 championship season and eight more the next year. Ellefson played only three games for the Knicks, scoring four total points, and never appeared in another NBA season. Neither player became a major contributor, but Rochester received 60 games from Noel while New York received three from Ellefson. The realized basketball value therefore favors the Royals despite Noel's modest scoring role.

Boston sold Bob Doll's player rights to the Minneapolis Lakers for cash on July 28, 1950. Doll had spent the previous two seasons with the Celtics, including 47 games at 6.7 points and 2.3 assists in 1949-50. Minneapolis never received an NBA appearance from him: the Lakers released Doll on October 30, and his four-year BAA/NBA career ended with his final Boston season. The reviewed transaction records do not preserve the cash amount. Boston gets the historical edge because it converted the rights of a player who never suited up for the buyer into a financial return.

Boston purchased Andy Duncan's player rights from the Rochester Royals for cash on June 27, 1950. Authoritative Rochester, Boston, league and Red Auerbach transaction records establish the June 27 date, correcting the legacy June 28 intake record, and show this as a player-rights sale rather than a draft-rights transaction. Duncan had already played two seasons for Rochester, including 67 games at 4.6 points per game in 1949-50. He appeared in only 14 games for Boston the next season, averaging 2.1 points, and never played another NBA season. With the cash amount undisclosed, Rochester gets the historical edge from monetizing a player who produced little after the sale.

Boston purchased Kenny Sailors' player rights from the Denver Nuggets for cash on June 22, 1950. Denver, Boston, league and Red Auerbach transaction records all identify a player-rights sale, correcting the legacy draft-rights classification. Sailors had just averaged 17.3 points and 4.0 assists in 57 games for Denver. His Boston stint was much smaller: 10 games at 1.8 points before the Celtics traded Sailors and Brady Walker to Baltimore for Dick Mehen on December 1. Boston therefore recovered some downstream trade value, but the direct on-court return was limited and the cash price is unknown.

Boston sold George Kaftan's player rights to the New York Knicks on June 21, 1950 for cash. The authoritative Boston, New York, league and executive transaction records all describe a player-rights sale, correcting the legacy draft-rights classification. Kaftan had already played two seasons for Boston, including 55 games at 9.7 points per game in 1949-50. He then gave New York 113 regular-season games over the next two seasons and appeared in 21 playoff games as the Knicks reached the NBA Finals in both 1951 and 1952. With the cash amount undisclosed, New York gets the stronger documented return.

Sheboygan sold Noble Jorgensen's player rights to the Tri-Cities Blackhawks on April 16, 1950 for cash. Authoritative Sheboygan, Tri-Cities and league transaction records correct the legacy April 15 intake date and show this as a player-rights sale rather than a draft-rights transaction. Jorgensen had averaged 13.0 points in 54 games for Sheboygan. He later played 22 games for Tri-Cities in 1950-51, averaging 11.2 points and 5.1 rebounds, before the Blackhawks sent him with cash to Syracuse for Ed Peterson. Tri-Cities gets the stronger historical return from the undisclosed purchase.

Tri-Cities traded Don Otten to the Washington Capitols for Jack Nichols on February 10, 1950. Authoritative Tri-Cities, Washington, league and Ben Kerner transaction records all show a straight player-for-player swap, correcting a legacy February 9 intake record that also listed an unsupported $5,000 cash payment to Tri-Cities. Nichols averaged 13.1 points in 18 games after the trade, later returned from military service and became a 15.8-point scorer for the Milwaukee Hawks in 1952-53. Otten averaged 14.9 points in 18 Washington games and returned for 16 more the next season. Tri-Cities gets the stronger long-term return.

Fort Wayne sold Bill Henry's player rights to the Tri-Cities Blackhawks on February 7, 1950 for cash. Henry had averaged 4.9 points in 44 games for the Pistons that season after scoring 9.9 per game as a rookie the year before. He played 19 regular-season games for Tri-Cities, averaging 4.3 points and 0.5 assists, then appeared in all three of the Blackhawks' playoff games. Henry never played another NBA season. Because the cash amount is not preserved and Tri-Cities received only a short stretch of modest production, the historical result is essentially even.

Fort Wayne acquired Duane Klueh's player rights from the Denver Nuggets on February 6, 1950 for cash. Klueh had averaged 10.0 points and 1.9 assists in 33 Denver games, then averaged 7.6 points across 19 games for the Pistons that season. He stayed with Fort Wayne for 1950-51, appearing in 61 more games and averaging 7.4 points and 3.0 rebounds. The reviewed transaction records identify the return only as cash, with no amount preserved. Fort Wayne gets the historical edge because the purchase produced 80 games across two seasons from a useful rotation guard.

Boston sold Dermie O'Connell's player rights to the St. Louis Bombers on February 1, 1950, three days after the Celtics had waived him. The public transaction record identifies the return as cash but does not preserve the amount. O'Connell played 24 games for St. Louis after the sale, averaging 3.8 points and 1.1 assists, and did not appear in another NBA season. The Bombers received a usable short-term guard while Boston converted a player it had already removed from the roster into an undisclosed payment. With the cash value unknown and O'Connell's NBA tenure ending that spring, the historical result is essentially even.

Tri-Cities traded John Mahnken to the Boston Celtics for Gene Englund on January 29, 1950. Englund gave the Blackhawks the better immediate scoring rate, averaging 7.5 points across 22 games after the trade, while Mahnken averaged 4.6 points in 24 Boston games. The long-term value went the other direction. Englund never played another NBA season, while Mahnken remained a Boston contributor into 1952-53 and appeared in 199 regular-season games for the Celtics after the exchange. Boston gets the historical edge because its incoming center supplied several seasons of usable depth.

Fort Wayne traded Charlie Black and Richie Niemiera to the Anderson Packers for Ralph Johnson and Howie Schultz on January 18, 1950. All four players contributed after the swap, but Johnson became the long-term differentiator. He played 32 games for the Pistons that season at 7.9 points per game, then remained with Fort Wayne for three more seasons and totaled 169 games for the franchise. Schultz added 32 games at 8.5 points. Black and Niemiera each played 29 games for Anderson, but neither remained in the NBA the following season. Fort Wayne gets the historical edge.