The Archive Links Gambee’s Return to Bob Boozer’s Rights
This canonical entry treats St. Louis’s reacquisition of Dave Gambee as the return for Cincinnati receiving Bob Boozer’s draft rights. Independent histories preserve both movements but split the timing: RealGM lists Gambee returning on April 14 and Cincinnati acquiring Boozer’s rights on April 15. That makes the linked exchange plausible while requiring a clear date note instead of pretending every ledger records one perfectly matched transaction.
Gambee Never Played Again for St. Louis
The Hawks did not turn the reacquired rights into additional games from Gambee. They sold his rights to Syracuse in September 1960, where he became a long-term rotation forward. St. Louis therefore realized only the unquantified proceeds of that later sale from the player side of this entry, not the seven productive seasons Gambee subsequently gave the Nationals and 76ers.
Boozer Became a Major Cincinnati Frontcourt Piece
Boozer debuted for Cincinnati in 1960-61 and played 269 regular-season games for the Royals across parts of four seasons. He averaged 13.7 points and 10.2 rebounds in his second year and 14.3 points with 11.1 rebounds in his third. The former No. 1 pick later became an All-Star and an NBA champion, but Cincinnati’s grade rests on the substantial production it directly received before trading him in 1963.
The Rights Gap Makes This a Decisive Royals Win
Cincinnati obtained several seasons of starting-level frontcourt production from Boozer. St. Louis recovered Gambee’s rights but received no additional Hawks games from him and soon converted the asset to undisclosed cash. Even allowing for the date ambiguity and the value of that later sale, the directly realized basketball return is overwhelmingly on Cincinnati’s side.
Final Verdict
Kings Win — St. Louis D, Cincinnati A. Atlanta acquired Dave Gambee from Royals (AP) in exchange for rights to Bob Boozer.