* Although Red Auerbach had been coaching and managing the roster of the Boston Celtics with moderate success for 6 seasons, those modest beginning are forgotten due to the moves he made in the 1956 NBA Draft. Drafting Tom Heinsohn and KC Jones were great picks but the first great draft day steal involved trading Boston’s leading scorer ‘Easy’ Ed McAuley to the St.Louis Hawks for the rights to Bill Russell. Don’t feel too bad for the Hawks, McAuley paired with All-time great Bob Pettit to beat the Celtics and win the franchise’s only NBA title in 1958 (after Russell missed games 4 & 5 with a sprained ankle).
1st round
Rochester Royals – Sihugo Green – 6’2 Duquesne
St.Louis Hawks – Bill Russell – 6’10 C San Francisco
Minneapolis Lakers – Jim Paxson – 6’6 Dayton
New York Knicks – Ronnie Shavlik – 6’8 NC State
Syracuse Nationals – Joe Holup – 6’6 F George Washington
Fort Wayne Pistons – Ron Sobieszczyk – 6’3 DePaul
Boston Celtics – Tom Heinsohn – 6’7 Holy Cross
Philadelphia Warriors – Hal Lear – 6’0 Temple2nd round
Rochester Royals – Bob Burrow – 6’7 Kentucky St.Louis Hawks – Williw Nauls 6’6 UCLA Minneapolis Lakers – Terry Rand – Marquette New York Knicks – Gary Bergen – 6’8 Utah Syracuse Nationals – Paul Judson – Illinois Fort Wayne Pistons – Bob Kessler – Maryland Boston Celtics – K.C. Jones – 6’1 G San Francisco Philadelphia Warriors – Phil Rollins – LouisvilleLater rounds [underline denotes player who played in league]
Boston
George Linn – Alabama;
Fort Wayne
Bill Thieben – Hoffstra;
St.Louis
Darrell Floyd – Furman;
Minneapolis
Jerry Bird – Kentucky;
New York
Jerry Harper – Alabama;
Philadelphia
Bevo Francis – Rio Grande;
Rochester
Dave Piontek – Xavier [OH];
Syracuse
Forest Abe – Western Kentucky;