1962 NBA Trades

New York acquired Tom Gola from the San Francisco Warriors for Willie Naulls and Kenny Sears on December 5, 1962. Basketball-Reference's Warriors, Knicks, league and player transaction records all agree on the date and package. Gola then gave New York 277 regular-season games across four seasons, including 52 games at 12.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists immediately after the trade. San Francisco received 47 games from Naulls before selling his rights to Boston in September 1963 and 105 games from Sears across the remainder of 1962-63 and 1963-64. Both incoming Warriors contributed, but neither matched Gola's four-season workload or two-way role. New York produced the stronger realized basketball return, while San Francisco still recovered useful short-term depth and a later cash return from Naulls.

Atlanta acquired 1963 or 1964 second round pick (Hawks option) (1964 #12-Paul Silas) from Zephyrs in exchange for Nick Mantis.

Boston sold Gary Phillips' player rights to the San Francisco Warriors for cash on October 18, 1962. Basketball-Reference's Celtics, Warriors, league and player transaction records all agree on the date and sale structure. Phillips had played only eight games for Boston as a rookie, but he became a regular part of San Francisco's backcourt for four seasons. He appeared in 281 regular-season games for the Warriors from 1962-63 through 1965-66, averaging 8.1 points in 75 games his first year and 10.0 points with 3.1 assists in 66 games the next. His role declined in the final two seasons, but the Warriors still received substantial multi-year depth. Boston's cash return is undisclosed, so the player production supports a Warriors win without justifying an extreme grade gap.

Atlanta acquired 1963 second round pick (#18-Ken Saylors); cash from Celtics in exchange for Clyde Lovellette.

Atlanta acquired rights to Bevo Nordmann from Royals in exchange for cash.

Atlanta acquired Phil Jordon; cash from Zephyrs in exchange for Charlie Hardnett.

Detroit sold George Lee's player rights to the San Francisco Warriors for cash on September 19, 1962. Basketball-Reference's Pistons, Warriors, league and player transaction records all agree on the date and structure. Lee then gave San Francisco 148 regular-season games across five playing seasons, with his largest role coming immediately in 1962-63: 64 games at 7.0 points and 3.4 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per game. His role declined over the next two years, he spent 1965-66 as an assistant coach rather than a player, and he later returned for brief appearances in 1966-67 and 1967-68. Detroit received an undisclosed cash payment. The player return clearly had real value, but the unknown sale price and mostly reserve-level production keep the Warriors' edge modest.

This September 16, 1962 New York-Chicago cash transaction for Cliff Luyk is retained only as legacy provenance. Basketball-Reference's Knicks, Zephyrs and league transaction ledgers do not record a September 16 deal. They instead agree that six days earlier, on September 10, New York traded Luyk together with Phil Jordon to Chicago for Gene Conley. Luyk's own transaction history records the September 10 trade and no return to New York. He never played an NBA game. The unsupported September 16 record would require Chicago to sell Luyk back to New York almost immediately, yet no team, league or player ledger shows that reversal. Because the September 10 Conley transaction is already represented canonically, this later cash record is structurally superseded rather than graded as a separate trade.

Cincinnati acquired Tom Hawkins from the Los Angeles Lakers for a 1963 second-round draft pick on September 14, 1962. Basketball-Reference's Lakers, Royals and league transaction ledgers all agree on the date and structure, and the pick later became No. 14 selection Jim King. Hawkins gave Cincinnati four full seasons of durable frontcourt production: 310 regular-season games from 1962-63 through 1965-66, including 79 games at 9.4 points and 6.9 rebounds in his first season and 79 games at 8.4 points and 7.3 rebounds in his fourth. King also became a useful Lakers guard, playing 213 regular-season games over three seasons before Chicago selected him in the 1966 expansion draft. Both teams received real value, but Hawkins' larger workload and four-season continuity give Cincinnati the stronger realized return.

New York acquired Gene Conley from the Chicago Zephyrs for Phil Jordon and the rights to Cliff Luyk on September 10, 1962. Basketball-Reference's Knicks, Zephyrs, league and player transaction records agree on the date and structure. Conley gave New York 116 regular-season games across two seasons, including 70 games at 9.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in 1962-63. Chicago never used Jordon in a game; 27 days later it traded him to St. Louis for Charlie Hardnett, who became a useful Zephyrs/Bullets frontcourt piece with 78 games at 10.6 points and 7.7 rebounds in 1962-63 and 164 games for the franchise across three seasons. Luyk never played in the NBA. The downstream Hardnett return gives Chicago/Baltimore a modest edge, but New York also received real multi-season value.

Syracuse sold Dick Barnett's player rights to the Los Angeles Lakers on September 5, 1962. Basketball-Reference's Nationals, Lakers and league transaction ledgers agree on the date and sale structure, while contemporary reporting cited in later biographical records places the price at $35,000. Barnett then played three full seasons for Los Angeles, appearing in 232 regular-season games and averaging 16.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He scored 18.0 points per game in 1962-63 and 18.4 in 1963-64, becoming a major backcourt contributor alongside Jerry West. In October 1965, the Lakers traded Barnett to New York for Bob Boozer and cash, preserving additional asset value. The realized basketball return clearly favors Los Angeles, even after recognizing that $35,000 was a substantial early-1960s cash payment.

New York traded Darrall Imhoff and cash to Detroit for Gene Shue on August 29, 1962. Basketball-Reference's Pistons, Knicks, league and player transaction records all agree on the date and structure. Shue then played 78 games for New York in 1962-63, averaging 11.7 points and 3.3 assists in 29.3 minutes per game. Detroit received 103 regular-season games from Imhoff across two seasons before selling his rights to the Los Angeles Lakers in April 1964, plus an undisclosed cash payment. New York also later packaged Shue with Paul Hogue to acquire Bill McGill, who averaged 16.0 points in 68 Knicks games in 1963-64. Because McGill's acquisition also required Hogue, the downstream value cannot be credited entirely to Shue, but the Knicks still received the stronger realized basketball return.

Cincinnati traded Larry Staverman to the Chicago Zephyrs for Dave Piontek on July 13, 1962. Basketball-Reference's Royals, Zephyrs, league and player transaction records all agree on that date and straight player-for-player structure, correcting the legacy June 30 entry that described a player-to-be-named-later or draft-pick mechanism. Piontek played 48 games for Cincinnati in 1962-63, averaging 2.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 9.5 minutes per game, then left the NBA. Staverman played 33 games for Chicago at 7.2 points and 4.8 rebounds, remained with the franchise into its Baltimore move, and was traded to Detroit in October 1963 for Kevin Loughery. Loughery then became a major long-term Baltimore guard. The realized and downstream value clearly favors the Chicago/Baltimore franchise.

Atlanta acquired Ralph Davis; rights to Bill Bridges from Packers in exchange for Al Ferrari; Shellie McMillon.