Toronto acquired Bob Mullens from the New York Knicks for Bob Fitzgerald on January 21, 1947. Mullens' scoring jumped from 2.9 points in 26 games for New York to 8.5 points across 28 games for Toronto, while Fitzgerald fell from 4.5 points with the Huskies to 2.8 points in 29 games for the Knicks. New York still finished 33-27 and reached the playoffs, so the trade did not damage a successful season, but Toronto received the stronger individual return. The Huskies get the historical edge because Mullens became a substantially larger offensive contributor immediately after the exchange.
On January 21, 1947, the Toronto Huskies traded Bob Fitzgerald to the New York Knicks for Bob Mullens. Basketball-Reference lists the one-for-one exchange on both team transaction pages and in the league transaction log. Both players had already appeared in more than 20 games for their original clubs, so the same-season before-and-after splits provide a useful basis for judging the deal.
Mullens changed roles dramatically after arriving in Toronto. He had averaged only 2.9 points in 26 games for New York, then scored 8.5 points per game across 28 appearances for the Huskies. His field-goal percentage rose from .260 to .287, his assists increased from 0.7 to 1.3 per game, and he scored 238 points for Toronto after totaling only 76 for the Knicks.
Fitzgerald moved in the opposite direction statistically. He had averaged 4.5 points in 31 games for Toronto before the trade, then fell to 2.8 points across 29 games for New York. His shooting remained below .200 from the field, although his estimated win-share contribution improved from negative territory in Toronto to a small positive mark with the Knicks. New York did not need Fitzgerald to become a high-volume scorer.
The strongest evidence comes from the immediate role changes. Mullens nearly tripled his scoring average after reaching Toronto and became one of the Huskies' more productive guards for the remainder of the season. Fitzgerald's scoring dropped after the move to New York and he never developed into a comparable contributor for the Knicks. Team success points the other way, because New York was much better than Toronto, but that gap was already larger than either player could reasonably change.
Huskies Win — Toronto A-, New York B. Toronto acquired Bob Mullens from the New York Knicks for Bob Fitzgerald on January 21, 1947. Mullens' scoring jumped from 2.9 points in 26 games for New York to 8.5 points across 28 games for Toronto, while Fitzgerald fell from 4.5 points with the Huskies to 2.8 points in 29 games for the Knicks.