Cincinnati Acquired Hub Reed for a Later Rights Asset
Cincinnati acquired Hub Reed from St. Louis on November 4, 1959 for a player to be named later. A contemporary November 5 newspaper item reports the Reed acquisition on those terms, and Cincinnati's 1961 media guide says Reed joined the Royals on November 4. On December 22, contemporary wire coverage reported that St. Louis received the rights to Bob Boozer, Cincinnati's No. 1 overall pick from the 1959 draft, to complete the earlier Reed transaction. RealGM also records the Hawks' acquisition of Boozer's rights on December 22.
Reed Supplied Four Royals Seasons
Reed became a durable Royals rotation big. Basketball-Reference credits him with 69 Cincinnati games in 1959-60, 75 in 1960-61, 80 in 1961-62 and 80 in 1962-63, or 304 regular-season games across four seasons. His Cincinnati aggregate was 6.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, with his largest role coming immediately after the trade when he averaged 9.7 points and 8.9 rebounds in 69 games. That is substantial realized value for a player acquired as part of a midseason roster adjustment.
St. Louis Never Received Bob Boozer NBA Games
Boozer was an extremely valuable prospect, but the Hawks did not turn the acquired rights into any Bob Boozer NBA games. He spent 1959-60 outside the NBA, and RealGM records Cincinnati reacquiring his draft rights from St. Louis on April 15, 1960. Boozer then signed with Cincinnati before the 1960-61 season and ultimately played 269 regular-season games for the Royals through the first 32 games of 1963-64. Because the April rights return is a separate transaction, this record does not credit Boozer's later Cincinnati production as an additional direct asset from the November trade.
The Direct Value Strongly Favors Cincinnati
The direct realized value strongly favors Cincinnati. Reed produced four seasons and 304 games for the Royals, including a substantial 1959-60 role immediately after his arrival. St. Louis temporarily controlled the rights to a future productive NBA player but never received a Boozer appearance, and those rights returned to Cincinnati before Boozer entered the league. The exact mechanics of the later rights return are inconsistently represented across modern transaction databases, so it would overstate the evidence to treat Boozer's full Cincinnati career as part of this one trade or to assign a zero-value label to the rights themselves.
Final Verdict
Royals Win — Cincinnati A-, St. Louis C+. Cincinnati acquired Hub Reed from St. Louis on November 4, 1959 for a player to be named later, which contemporary reporting and later transaction records identify as the rights to No. 1 overall pick Bob Boozer on December 22. A 1961 Cincinnati media guide and a November 5, 1959 newspaper report confirm Reed joined the Royals at that time, while December reporting confirms Boozer's rights completed the exchange. Reed played 304 regular-season games for Cincinnati across four seasons. Boozer never played for St. Louis; RealGM records his rights returning to Cincinnati on April 15, 1960 before his NBA debut.