Trade Verdicts
NBA Trade Verdict

Wizards Win

Detroit lost the deal, sending Bob Ferry, Bailey Howell, Don Ohl, rights to Les Hunter, rights to Wali Jones for Terry Dischinger, Don Kojis, Rod Thorn.

June 9, 1964 Detroit Pistons / Washington Wizards Record confidence: High

Detroit Pistons Received

Washington Wizards Received

Detroit Pistons

B

Washington Wizards

A+

Trade Analysis

Baltimore Received the Deeper Package

The 1964 deal sent Terry Dischinger, Don Kojis and Rod Thorn to Detroit for Bob Ferry, Bailey Howell, Don Ohl and the rights to Les Hunter and Wali Jones. Archival public sources disagree on whether the transaction should be dated June 9 or June 18, but the player package is consistent. The Bullets received five assets, including an established star in Howell, a productive guard in Ohl and two recent draft rights. Detroit received the youngest headline scorer in Dischinger, who remained excellent immediately. The difference is depth. Baltimore did not need every incoming player to hit because the package supplied multiple productive contributors at once, while Detroit's side became much more dependent on Dischinger.

Detroit Did Get an All-Star Season from Dischinger

Detroit's B grade matters because this was not a one-sided disaster in which the Pistons received nothing. Dischinger played all 80 games in 1964-65, averaged 18.2 points and 6.0 rebounds, and made the All-Star team. He was only 24 and had already been Rookie of the Year earlier in his career. That is substantial value. The complication is what followed: Dischinger missed the next two seasons while serving in the military, interrupting the continuity Detroit expected from the centerpiece. Kojis and Thorn did not supply enough additional production to match the combined package Baltimore received. Detroit's return was good; Baltimore's was simply broader and more durable.

Howell and Ohl Gave Baltimore Immediate High-End Production

Baltimore's incoming veterans immediately changed the quality of the roster. Howell averaged 20.8 points and 10.5 rebounds in 1964-65 and remained an All-Star-level forward. Ohl provided major backcourt scoring, while Ferry added frontcourt depth. The Bullets finished 37-43 but reached the Western Division Finals after winning a playoff series, a meaningful step for the franchise. The trade should not be credited with every team accomplishment, yet the incoming players were central enough to demonstrate immediate realized value. Baltimore did not have to wait for the draft rights to justify the move; Howell and Ohl alone supplied a formidable veteran return.

Wali Jones Added Another Productive Branch

The rights to Wali Jones gave Baltimore another young guard who played 77 games as a rookie and made the All-Rookie team. He later had a long professional career. Les Hunter was less impactful in the NBA, but the pair of draft rights increased the number of ways Baltimore could win the transaction. That breadth is what pushes the Bullets' grade to A+. Howell and Ohl were established contributors, Ferry had value, and Jones became another useful player. Detroit's best asset, Dischinger, was excellent enough to keep the Pistons at B, but one star-level season plus secondary pieces could not match the total volume of quality Baltimore received.

Final Verdict

Wizards Win. The Baltimore franchise, represented here by the modern Wizards lineage, earns A+ because it acquired Bailey Howell, Don Ohl, Bob Ferry and the rights to Wali Jones and Les Hunter in one transaction. Howell and Ohl delivered immediate high-level production, Jones became a useful rookie and long-term professional, and the package had unusual depth. Detroit receives B because Terry Dischinger was genuinely excellent, making the All-Star team in his first Pistons season, and the Pistons also received Don Kojis and Rod Thorn. Dischinger's two-season military absence then interrupted the expected value of the centerpiece. The documented Wizards Win verdict reflects aggregate realized value, not a claim that Detroit received a poor player.

For Hardcore NBA Heads

Deep Dive: The 1964 Blockbuster Was Bigger Than Terry Dischinger versus Bailey Howell

This eight-player exchange was enormous by the standards of its era. It is also easy to oversimplify into a comparison between Dischinger and Howell. The deeper ledger matters more. Baltimore acquired several players who contributed immediately, while Detroit concentrated much of its upside in one young All-Star whose career was soon interrupted by military service.

The Date Is Less Certain Than the Package

Historical transaction public sources do not perfectly agree on the date. RealGM records the deal on June 9, while Basketball-Reference places it on June 18. The disagreement is worth acknowledging because it illustrates the limits of archival precision for early NBA history. The asset exchange itself is consistent across the sources: Detroit received Dischinger, Kojis and Thorn; Baltimore received Ferry, Howell, Ohl and the rights to Hunter and Jones. The grade therefore does not depend on resolving a nine-day archival discrepancy. It depends on the players and rights that actually changed hands and the value those assets subsequently created for the two franchises.

Dischinger Was a Legitimate Centerpiece

A harsh Detroit grade would ignore how good Dischinger was. He had already won Rookie of the Year and made All-Star teams before the trade, then averaged 18.2 points in 80 games in his first Pistons season and was an All-Star again. Detroit had acquired a 24-year-old scorer with a clear star résumé. That is why the Pistons remain at B despite losing the overall trade. The problem was concentration risk. Dischinger then missed two full NBA seasons because of military service, and the supporting return from Kojis and Thorn did not compensate for the depth Baltimore had received. A strong centerpiece can still lose a trade when the other side acquires several quality pieces.

Baltimore Added Proven Scoring and Rebounding

Howell arrived as a multi-time All-Star and immediately averaged 20.8 points and 10.5 rebounds for Baltimore. Ohl also brought major scoring from the backcourt. Those were not speculative assets whose value depended on development; they were proven NBA players capable of helping immediately. Baltimore's 1964-65 club reached the division finals after winning a playoff series, and the incoming veterans were part of that competitive leap. The analysis does not assign the entire playoff run to the trade, but the direct production is difficult to miss. Baltimore received enough established talent that the deal was already strong before the rookie rights to Jones and Hunter are considered.

The Draft Rights Turned Depth into Overwhelming Depth

Wali Jones gave Baltimore yet another useful outcome. He played 77 games as a rookie, made the All-Rookie team and became a long-term professional guard. Hunter's NBA impact was smaller, but the rights still represented another development opportunity. When those players are added to Howell, Ohl and Ferry, Baltimore's package becomes unusually broad. Detroit had the single best young scorer in the transaction, but Baltimore had several assets capable of producing value simultaneously. That is the difference between A+ and B. The grade does not require every Bullet to become a star. It reflects the sheer number of productive branches created by the outgoing Detroit package.

Deep-Dive Verdict

Wizards Win, Baltimore/Washington A+ and Detroit B. The Bullets acquired a deep package led by Bailey Howell and Don Ohl, received immediate playoff-caliber production, and added Wali Jones as another useful young player. Detroit's return deserves respect because Terry Dischinger remained an All-Star and averaged 18.2 points in his first Pistons season. His subsequent two-year military absence reduced the continuity of that value, while Kojis and Thorn did not close the broader gap. Archival sources disagree on whether the trade should be dated June 9 or June 18, but they agree on the players involved. On that stable list of assets, Baltimore clearly accumulated more total realized value.

Research sources (8)