1961 NBA Trades

Syracuse acquired Joe Graboski's player rights from the expansion Chicago Packers for cash on December 28, 1961. Basketball-Reference's league, Packers, Nationals and player transaction records all support the date and sale structure. Graboski had played 12 games for Chicago after arriving from St. Louis in November, averaging 5.6 points and 3.3 rebounds in 9.8 minutes per game. He then appeared in 23 regular-season games for Syracuse, averaging 5.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in 14.0 minutes per game, plus four playoff appearances. The 1961-62 season was the final NBA campaign of his career. Because Syracuse received only a short reserve stint and the cash amount Chicago received is unknown, the source-backed record remains Insufficient Evidence rather than forcing a winner.

Boston sold Al Butler's player rights to the New York Knicks for cash on December 11, 1961. Basketball-Reference's Celtics, Knicks, league and player transaction records all support the date and direction. Butler had appeared in only five games for Boston after being selected in the second round of the 1961 draft, but he immediately became a major part of New York's backcourt. He played 54 games for the Knicks in 1961-62, averaging 14.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 36.5 minutes per game, then remained with New York for two more seasons. Across three Knicks seasons he appeared in 204 regular-season games and averaged 10.7 points per game. The cash amount Boston received is unknown, but Butler's multi-year production gives New York the clearly stronger realized basketball return.

St. Louis acquired Bob Sims' player rights from the Los Angeles Lakers for cash in December 1961. Basketball-Reference's Lakers, Hawks, league and player records all confirm the sale but preserve only the month, not an exact day, so the canonical December 5 date is retained only as an approximate sort position. Sims had played 19 games for Los Angeles at 3.3 points per game before the move. He then became a much larger part of the Hawks' rotation, appearing in 46 games and averaging 9.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 25.5 minutes per game before St. Louis waived him in June 1962. The cash amount is unknown, but the realized rotation value gives St. Louis the stronger supported outcome.

St. Louis acquired Shellie McMillon's player rights from Detroit for cash on December 1, 1961, not December 4 as the legacy intake recorded. Basketball-Reference's Pistons, Hawks, league and player transaction records all agree on the December 1 date. McMillon then played 48 regular-season games for St. Louis, averaging 11.8 points and 6.3 rebounds in 21.6 minutes per game. The Hawks also retained enough asset value to include him with Al Ferrari in the June 14, 1962 trade that brought Bill Bridges and Ralph Davis from the expansion Chicago Packers. Detroit's cash return is unpriced, but the realized player production and downstream trade utility give St. Louis the stronger supported outcome.

Philadelphia sold Bob McNeill's player rights to the Los Angeles Lakers for cash in December 1961. Basketball-Reference's Warriors, Lakers and league ledgers confirm the rights sale but preserve only the month, not an exact day, so the canonical December 1 date is retained only as an approximate sort position. McNeill had already played 21 games for Philadelphia that season after the Warriors acquired his rights from Chicago in May. He then appeared in 29 regular-season games for Los Angeles, averaging 1.8 points and 1.4 assists in 7.9 minutes per game, plus five playoff appearances. The cash amount Philadelphia received is unknown, and McNeill's Lakers contribution was limited, so the source-backed record remains Insufficient Evidence rather than forcing a winner.

St. Louis bought Vern Hatton's player rights from the Philadelphia Warriors on November 30, 1961, one day after Philadelphia had reacquired those rights from the expansion Chicago Packers. Hatton played 25 regular-season games for the Hawks in 1961-62, averaging 3.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per game, and never appeared in another NBA season. The public ledgers do not preserve the cash amount St. Louis paid, nor the amount Philadelphia had paid Chicago the day before. Philadelphia therefore completed a one-day rights flip for unknown financial terms, while St. Louis received a short reserve stint. Because the player value was limited and the transaction's economic core is unpriced, a winner cannot be supported responsibly.

Chicago sold Vern Hatton's player rights back to the Philadelphia Warriors on November 29, 1961 for cash, six months after Philadelphia had sold the same rights to the expansion Packers. Hatton had played 15 games for Chicago, averaging 9.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 26.4 minutes per game. Philadelphia did not use him in another regular-season game; the Warriors sold Hatton's rights to St. Louis the next day, and he finished his NBA career with 25 Hawks games. The public transaction ledgers do not preserve either the November 29 cash price or Philadelphia's November 30 resale amount. Because the Warriors' return was essentially an unpriced one-day rights flip and Chicago's return was also unpriced cash, a winner cannot be supported.

Atlanta acquired Barney Cable; Archie Dees from Packers (trade including Ralph Davis, Fred LaCour, player to be named later was disallowed by NBA Board of Governors) in exchange for Sihugo Green; Joe Graboski; Woody Sauldsberry.

St. Louis traded Frank Radovich, Bob McDonald and cash to the Philadelphia Warriors for Joe Graboski on August 19, 1961. Basketball-Reference's Hawks, Warriors and league transaction ledgers all preserve the same four-part package. Graboski played only three regular-season games for St. Louis before the Hawks included him with Si Green and Woody Sauldsberry in a November trade with the expansion Chicago Packers. Radovich played 37 games for Philadelphia in 1961-62, averaging 2.4 points and 1.4 rebounds in 4.7 minutes per game, while McDonald never appeared in an NBA game. The undisclosed cash payment keeps the exchange from being lopsided, but the Hawks received the more useful direct asset and retained downstream trade value.

Atlanta acquired rights to Mike Farmer from Royals (date approximate) in exchange for cash.

This July 1, 1961 Gary Alcorn Detroit-to-Los Angeles cash transaction is retained only as legacy provenance. The supported record shows Alcorn became a free agent from Detroit on July 1, 1960, signed with the Lakers on October 24, 1960, played 20 games for Los Angeles, and was waived on December 15 before becoming a free agent again on December 17. Basketball-Reference's 1960-61 and 1961-62 transaction ledgers do not show a July 1, 1961 Detroit-Lakers trade, and RealGM's player transaction history ends Alcorn's NBA movement with the December 1960 waiver. The Lakers' own alumni record likewise lists only his 1960-61 season. With no corroborating 1961 trade and a chronology incompatible with the legacy archive entry, the record is structurally superseded.

Atlanta acquired draft pick (possibly 1962 No. 28, Charles Vaughn / Chico Vaughn) from Packers in exchange for rights to Horace Walker.

Philadelphia sold Vern Hatton's player rights to the expansion Chicago Packers on May 31, 1961 for cash. Hatton then played 15 regular-season games for Chicago in 1961-62, averaging 9.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 26.4 minutes per game. Chicago sold his rights back to Philadelphia on November 29, and the Warriors sold them to St. Louis the next day; Hatton finished his NBA career with 25 Hawks games. The public ledgers do not preserve the cash amount in the May sale or the November buyback. Because the same asset generated multiple unpriced cash transactions around only 15 Packers games, the source-backed verdict remains Insufficient Evidence rather than inventing a financial comparison.

On May 16, 1961, the expansion Chicago Packers sold Bob McNeill's player rights to the Philadelphia Warriors for cash. Basketball-Reference's league ledger records the sale on the same day Chicago acquired McNeill and Charlie Tyra from New York for Dave Budd. McNeill later appeared in 21 regular-season games for Philadelphia in 1961-62, averaging 4.1 points and 2.3 assists in 10.1 minutes per game, before the Warriors sold his rights to the Los Angeles Lakers in December 1961. The cash amount Chicago received and the amount Philadelphia later recovered from Los Angeles are not preserved in the public ledgers. Because those financial terms are material and McNeill's Philadelphia tenure was brief, the transaction remains Insufficient Evidence rather than forcing a winner.

New York acquired Sam Stith's player rights from the Cincinnati Royals on May 16, 1961. RealGM, Pro Sports Transactions and the 1962 Knicks media guide all support the Cincinnati-to-New York direction, and Stith signed with the Knicks before playing his only NBA season there. Basketball-Reference also contains a contradictory same-day reciprocal entry showing New York selling Stith's rights back to Cincinnati, so that ledger cannot be treated as a clean one-direction record by itself. Stith ultimately played 32 games for New York in 1961-62, averaging 4.4 points and 1.9 assists in 13.8 minutes per game. Because the cash amount is unknown and the reciprocal BBR entry creates a transaction-record conflict, the source-backed verdict remains Insufficient Evidence rather than forcing a winner.

New York reacquired Dave Budd from the expansion Chicago Packers on May 16, 1961 after losing him to Chicago in the April expansion draft. The Knicks sent the player rights to Charlie Tyra and Bob McNeill. Budd then played four more seasons for New York, appearing in 292 regular-season games from 1961-62 through 1964-65 and averaging 9.5 points and 5.1 rebounds at his post-trade peak in 1962-63. Tyra gave Chicago 78 games in 1961-62 at 6.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, while McNeill never played for the Packers because Chicago sold his rights to Philadelphia for cash the same day. The cash amount is unknown, but the direct realized basketball value favors New York clearly.

Cincinnati sold Phil Jordon to the New York Knicks on January 18, 1961 for cash. Basketball-Reference's Royals, Knicks and league transaction ledgers all preserve the same date and sale structure. Jordon immediately became New York's starting-caliber center for the rest of 1960-61, averaging 13.1 points and 8.1 rebounds in 31 games, then played 76 more games for the Knicks in 1961-62 at 11.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Across those two seasons he gave New York 107 regular-season games before the Knicks moved him in September 1962. The public ledgers do not preserve the cash amount Cincinnati received. Retrospectively, buying more than a season and a half of useful center production for cash clearly favors New York.