Rochester and Minneapolis Swapped Major Packages
Basketball-Reference's Rochester and Minneapolis transaction logs agree on the full April 17, 1957 package. The Royals sent Bob Burrow, Ed Fleming, Hot Rod Hundley, Monk Meineke and Art Spoelstra to the Lakers for Clyde Lovellette and Jim Paxson. Hundley had just been selected No. 1 overall by Rochester, so the asset was not a vague future right: it was the rights to the top pick in the same day's draft. The historical team names matter here. Rochester moved to Cincinnati for the 1957-58 season, while the Lakers were still in Minneapolis.
Lovellette Gave Rochester the Best Immediate Season
Lovellette immediately delivered star production. In 1957-58 he played 71 games for Cincinnati and averaged 23.4 points and 12.1 rebounds, finishing 12th in MVP voting. Paxson also gave the Royals 67 games at 9.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists. The direct return therefore included an elite center season plus a full year of rotation wing play. The Lovellette asset also retained major transaction value. In September 1958 Cincinnati traded him to St. Louis for Gerry Calvert, Wayne Embry, Darrell Floyd, Jim Palmer and Ken Sidle.
Hundley Became the Lakers’ Longest-Lived Return
Hundley became the durable centerpiece of the Lakers package. He played all six seasons of his NBA career for the franchise, 431 regular-season games in total, and made the All-Star team in 1960 and 1961. His best season was 1959-60, when he averaged 12.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists. He remained a rotation guard after the franchise moved to Los Angeles and participated in multiple deep playoff runs. Fleming also supplied real value: 170 Minneapolis games over three seasons, including 72 games at 8.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in 1957-58.
Both Franchises Extracted A-Level Value
The legacy slight Rochester edge underweights Hundley and Fleming, while a Lakers win would underweight how strong Lovellette was immediately and how much transaction value he retained. Rochester received the best single season in the deal and then turned that star into a package that included Embry. Minneapolis received the longest direct player value through Hundley's six seasons and two All-Star selections, plus meaningful Fleming and Spoelstra contributions. Both sides extracted high-level value from different time horizons.
Final Verdict
Even Trade — Rochester A, Minneapolis A. On April 17, 1957, Rochester sent Bob Burrow, Ed Fleming, Monk Meineke, Art Spoelstra and the draft rights to No. 1 pick Hot Rod Hundley to Minneapolis for Clyde Lovellette and Jim Paxson Sr. Rochester got one elite Lovellette season at 23.4 points and 12.1 rebounds plus a useful Paxson year, then converted Lovellette into a package led by future five-time All-Star Wayne Embry. Minneapolis received six full Hundley seasons, including two All-Star selections, plus three useful Fleming seasons and other depth. Both franchises created substantial value, making an even result more defensible than the legacy slight Rochester edge.