Fort Wayne sold Jack Smiley's player rights to the Anderson Packers for cash on November 2, 1949. Smiley had just averaged 6.7 points and 2.3 assists in 59 games for the Pistons, but his Anderson tenure lasted only 12 games at 2.0 points and 1.2 assists before he finished the season with Waterloo. The reviewed Fort Wayne, Anderson and league transaction logs agree on the rights sale while leaving the cash amount unidentified. Fort Wayne gets the historical edge because it monetized a regular whose value to the buyer was brief and sharply reduced.
On November 2, 1949, the Fort Wayne Pistons sold Jack Smiley's player rights to the Anderson Packers for cash. Basketball-Reference records the acquisition on Anderson's transaction page, the sale on Fort Wayne's page and the same move in the league transaction log. The cash amount is not preserved. Smiley had been a full-time Fort Wayne player in the prior BAA season, appearing in 59 games and averaging 6.7 points and 2.3 assists.
Smiley appeared in only 12 games for the Packers. He averaged 2.0 points and 1.2 assists, shot .120 from the field and produced negative estimated win-share value in that short stint. Anderson itself was a strong 37-27 team that reached the NBA semifinals, so the poor individual return did not prevent a successful season. Smiley later joined the Waterloo Hawks and was far more useful there, averaging 6.6 points and 3.1 assists in 47 games.
Fort Wayne received cash after getting 59 games from Smiley the previous season. The amount is unknown, which prevents a precise financial comparison. Still, the Pistons moved a player just before his role collapsed with the buyer. Fort Wayne finished 40-28 in 1949-50 and made the playoffs, so losing Smiley did not create an obvious roster problem. The sale also fits a broader early-NBA pattern in which teams regularly converted player rights into cash rather than holding players outside their plans.
The deal looks favorable to Fort Wayne because Anderson's direct return was so limited. Smiley had been a regular Piston, but the Packers got only 12 games at 2.0 points per night before his career continued elsewhere. The unknown sale price keeps the Pistons' grade from reaching elite territory because the exact financial value cannot be established. Anderson's team success also softens the downside: the Packers won 37 games and advanced deep into the playoffs despite this move not working.
Pistons Win — Fort Wayne B+, Anderson C. Fort Wayne sold Jack Smiley's player rights to the Anderson Packers for cash on November 2, 1949. Smiley had just averaged 6.7 points and 2.3 assists in 59 games for the Pistons, but his Anderson tenure lasted only 12 games at 2.0 points and 1.2 assists before he finished the season with Waterloo. The reviewed Fort Wayne, Anderson and league transaction logs agree on the rights sale while leaving the cash amount unidentified.