Bob Kauffman

He had a short career as an NBA team executive with the Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons. He spent two seasons as assistant general manager for the Hawks before Detroit hired him as the Pistons' general manager in 1977. He was with the Pistons from May 25, 1977 to July 14, 1978.

On May 20, 1974 Kauffman was drafted by the New Orleans Jazz from the Buffalo Braves in the NBA expansion draft. He was immediately traded by the Jazz in a landmark trade. He was traded with Dean Meminger, a 1974 1st round draft pick (Mike Sojourner was later selected), a 1975 1st round draft pick (David Thompson was later selected), a 1975 2nd round draft pick (Bill Willoughby was later selected), a 1976 2nd round draft pick (Alex English was later selected) and a 1980 3rd round draft pick (Jonathan Moore was later selected) to the Atlanta Hawks for Pete Maravich.

In 1973-1974, the Braves improved to 42-40, making the playoffs. Kauffman became a reserve, averaging 6.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in 17 minutes, on a roster that included Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo, Randy Smith and Gar Heard.

Under new Coach Jack Ramsay, Kauffman was an All-Star again in 1972-1973, averaging 17.5 points and 11.1 rebounds for the 21-61 Braves.

The Braves struggled again in 1971-1972, again finishing 22-60, but Kauffman was an All-Star for the second time, averaging 18.9 points and 10.2 rebounds. Kauffman had 44 points against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Milwaukee Bucks on November 13, 1971.

On May 11, 1970, Kauffman was traded, completing a trade on September 2, 1969, he was traded by the Chicago Bulls with Jim Washington to the Philadelphia 76ers for Shaler Halimon and Chet Walker. Kauffman was sent as the player to be named later on May 11, 1970. Later, the expansion Buffalo Braves acquired him and a 1971 2nd round draft pick (Spencer Haywood was later selected) from the Philadelphia 76ers the day of the NBA Expansion Draft, May 11, 1970, in exchange for veteran forward Bailey Howell. Kauffman never played for Philadelphia.

On September 5, 1969 Kauffman was traded by the Seattle SuperSonics with a 1971 3rd round draft pick (Clifford Ray was later selected) to the Chicago Bulls for Bob Boozer and Barry Clemens. Kauffman played a reserve role for the Bulls in 1969-1970, averaging 4.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in 12 minutes per game.

Kauffman was selected with the third overall pick of the 1968 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics behind future Hall of Fame inductees Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld. Kauffman was also selected in the 1968 American Basketball Association Draft by the Oakland Oaks, but chose to play in the NBA.

Kauffman scored 2,570 points on 64% shooting with 1,801 rebounds in his 113-game career. He averaged 22.7 points and 15.9 rebounds in his career. He has Guilford records for single-game rebounds (32), single-season rebounds (698, 1967–68), career field goals (943), single-season field goal percentage (.712, 1967–68), single-season free throws (273, 1966–67), career free throws (684) and single-season free-throw attempts (344, 1966–67).

Some of Bob's more outstanding accolades from college include, 32 rebounds in a single game, 698 rebounds in a single season, while averaging 15.9 for his college career. He has made 943 career field goals, shot a very impressive 71.2 percent in single-season from the field, 273 free-throws attempted in a single-season, while shooting a total of 344 in a single-season, nearly one third of his career free-throws made which happens to be 684 and single-season free-throw attempts (344, 1966–67). These were all of his great stats released by his alma mater Guilford. Many believe the jersey worn by Kauffman when he played for the Buffalo Braves should be retired by the clippers since he was the original star of the program.

Kauffman, from Scarsdale, New York, played collegiately at NAIA Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina, from 1964–1968, playing under Coach Jerry Steele.

Bob Kauffman died at the age of 69 peacefully one night as his heart stopped. Bob was a basketball player who played collegiately and professionally in the early 1960s to early 1970s. Although his career was not long he was able to accomplish many things throughout his time playing. Kauffman came from a relatively small college in which they competed other small colleges in the NAIA, a subdivision of the NCAA, Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina. He was one of the prominent and promising players in all of college basketball at his time. When he was drafted he played for several different teams and was successful for all of them. Bob was able to make the NBA all star team in 3 of his 7 seasons, from 1971–1973. While at Guilford he was an all-American and one of the best to ever play in the NAIA, coming as a top 3 pick in the 1968 NBA draft. Many believe Bob Kauffman should have played longer but due to injury had to call it quits sooner than expected. Most people remember him as the pioneer of tough basketball. He is the original blue collar worker, always worked hard for shots, rebounds and especially defensively where he competed against some of the best to ever play the game. He was physical and a lot of people enjoyed watching that type of play

Bob Kauffman was born on July 13, 1946 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA as Robert Alan Kauffman. He was married to Judy.