Milwaukee Bought Veteran Guard Bob Harrison
Minneapolis sold Bob Harrison's player rights to Milwaukee on February 2, 1954. Basketball-Reference lists the same sale on the Lakers, Hawks and league-wide 1953-54 transaction pages. Harrison was not an untested prospect: he had already played four full seasons plus 40 games of 1953-54 for Minneapolis, won three NBA championships with the Lakers and remained an active rotation guard. The transaction is therefore best understood as the sale of a veteran player's rights for cash, with the amount not preserved in the reviewed public record.
Harrison Played 96 Hawks Games
Harrison immediately became one of Milwaukee's heaviest-minute guards. He played 24 Hawks games to finish 1953-54, averaging 34.3 minutes, 9.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He then appeared in all 72 Milwaukee games in 1954-55, averaging 31.9 minutes, 10.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists. That is substantial realized value from a February cash purchase: the Hawks added an experienced guard who could handle starter-level minutes across the remainder of one season and the entirety of the next.
Minneapolis Took Cash from a Deep Championship Roster
The Lakers received cash, but the reviewed transaction pages do not disclose the amount. Minneapolis had already extracted considerable value from Harrison before the sale, including three championship seasons and more than four years of regular rotation work. The timing also came during another championship season, so the Lakers were moving an established veteran from a deep roster rather than giving away an unknown asset. Still, the cash cannot be translated into an identifiable player, pick or downstream basketball return in the surviving transaction record.
Starter-Level Minutes Give Milwaukee the Win
Milwaukee received the stronger measurable return because Harrison supplied 96 regular-season games across the remainder of 1953-54 and all of 1954-55, including starter-level minutes and double-digit scoring in the latter season. Minneapolis' financial return was real but opaque. The Lakers' prior success with Harrison reduces the sting of the sale, but prior championships are not part of the post-trade return. The result therefore favors Milwaukee without treating the move as a franchise-changing transaction.
Final Verdict
Hawks Win — Milwaukee A-, Minneapolis C. Minneapolis sold Bob Harrison's player rights to the Milwaukee Hawks for cash on February 2, 1954. Basketball-Reference's Minneapolis, Milwaukee and league transaction logs agree on the sale. Harrison was already a five-year NBA veteran and three-time champion, so the deal was a veteran player-rights transfer rather than a speculative acquisition. He played 24 Milwaukee games to finish 1953-54, averaging 34.3 minutes, 9.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists, then appeared in all 72 Hawks games the next season at 10.1 points per game.