Lakers trade may be challenged by owners?

[The DarkPassenger]

You know, I call conspiracy theory on this one. So the Hornets (AKA NBA) was apparently about to pull the trigger and send Paul to Boston and the Hornets (NBA)called all the teams to tell them this. Okay... why? If you want to pull the trigger on a deal, you like the deal wouldn't you just make the call and do the deal? Unless Hornets (NBA) wanted Paul to go to a bigger market and Paul didn't want to come to Boston so he had the "powers that be" call around again, so CP3 runs the Hornets now?

I like that David Stern blocked this deal, Woj from yahoo said on his twitter or whatever it was:

League source on killed deal: "...(Stern) wasn't going to let Chris Paul dictate where he wanted to go."

and

"In the end, David didn’t like that the players were dictating where they wanted to go," source says.

Hell yeah, you're being traded Chris Paul, this isn't free agency I'm sorry... get over it. If they want to send you to the Timberwolves or the 76ers or Canada they can and you have no say... cause you're not supposed to.

In the future no player should be able to dictate where they are traded to.

I don't believe these quotes by Stern whatsoever. He allowed the Melo trade when Melo openly said that he wouldn't go anywhere but NY. Stern would have allowed this trade. He blocked it because he would have had 28 owners telling him they wouldn't ratify the CBA if he allowed the trade.

That's why he vetoed it not because of Paul's dictating where he wanted to go because Stern already allowed a player to dictate where he was going to be traded to before when two teams not owned by the league made that trade.

Extremely likely. It was still a good move, even if motivated by something else.

No player should be able to dictate where they are traded to. I think the Melo trade embarrassed the NBA cause it said loud and clear that you can manipulate the system to go where you want to go... basically turning trade deals into free agency. 

Denver actually got a good return for Melo, in my opinion. Sure, he forced his way out but New York had to pay for it.

Yeah they got a good return and made it pretty far in the playoffs, which was cool. I still think it sent out a bad message to other players.

[ChainSmokingLikeDino]

In no way is this a good thing and I'm surprised how anyone could think so except for some myopic view that sees everything in a vacuum. The league agreed (or, is agreeing) to a CBA. Those are the rules. In what way is it ok for teams to be able to participate in trades and then have the league set a new standard whenever they want? It is trying to get what they couldn't achieve in bargaining (because they were absurd demands) through the league office and it is a joke. Lakers or Celtics or whomever this is not a good or ok thing to occur and I am frankly surprised at the many opinions counter to that.

[mainevent]

LA Times Article -

Lamar Odom in 'disbelief' after nearly being traded to Hornets
December 8, 2011 |  8:00 pm

Lamar Odom is still a Laker, but he doesn't sound completely thrilled about it.

Odom admitted that he was “shocked” and “surprised” when told Thursday afternoon that the Lakers agreed to trade him to the New Orleans Hornets as part of a deal for point guard Chris Paul. But this evening when he heard that the NBA had killed the trade, Odom said he was in “total disbelief” over these new developments.

Odom and Pau Gasol had been part of a three-team deal: Paul was coming to the Lakers, Odom was going to the Hornets and Gasol was going to the Houston Rockets, who were going to send Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, Goran Dragic and draft picks to the Hornets.

But NBA commissioner David Stern, reportedly under pressure from the same owners that just ratified the new collective bargaining agreement, killed the deal. The Hornets are owned by the NBA; the league said they rejected the Paul "trade for basketball reasons."

“I guess that means I’m a Laker if the trade didn’t go through,” a somber Odom said in a phone interview with The Times. “I don’t know what to do for the Lakers. I’m even weirded out by the league doing what they did. I don’t know what to do.”

Odom said he thought it was “a lie” when he was first told about the trade to New Orleans.

“And then it doesn’t go through,” Odom said. “Oh, lord. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’ll pray about it.”

The Lakers open training camp Friday at their facility in El Segundo.

“Maybe I’ll see you there tomorrow [at practice],” Odom said. “But I doubt it. You don’t want to go to no place you’re not wanted. I’ll try to give them what they want as much as possible.”

Odom also felt bad for Gasol.

“Imagine how Pau feels,” Odom said. “Pau came to the Lakers and played here for four years, went to the Finals and lost, won two NBA championships and then got swept [by the Dallas Mavericks this year]. Wow! Imagine how he must feel.

“Man, I’m just in total disbelief about all of this,” Odom continued. “They don’t want my services, for whatever reason. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I was proud to be a Laker, so I’ll try to help them in the process as much as possible."

I ALMOST feel sorry for him but.... he's a FAKER so HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

[WeMadeIt17]

muhahahah the collapse of the Lakers!!!

[RJ87]

In no way is this a good thing and I'm surprised how anyone could think so except for some myopic view that sees everything in a vacuum. The league agreed (or, is agreeing) to a CBA. Those are the rules. In what way is it ok for teams to be able to participate in trades and then have the league set a new standard whenever they want? It is trying to get what they couldn't achieve in bargaining (because they were absurd demands) through the league office and it is a joke. Lakers or Celtics or whomever this is not a good or ok thing to occur and I am frankly surprised at the many opinions counter to that.

The league owns the Hornets - that's the major reason this happened. That's like Wyc telling Danny to cool it when he flies off the reservation.

[Redz]

In no way is this a good thing and I'm surprised how anyone could think so except for some myopic view that sees everything in a vacuum. The league agreed (or, is agreeing) to a CBA. Those are the rules. In what way is it ok for teams to be able to participate in trades and then have the league set a new standard whenever they want? It is trying to get what they couldn't achieve in bargaining (because they were absurd demands) through the league office and it is a joke. Lakers or Celtics or whomever this is not a good or ok thing to occur and I am frankly surprised at the many opinions counter to that.

pretty much my thoughts as well...very screwy

[barefacedmonk]

NBA spokesman Mike Bass says: "It's not true that the owners killed the deal, the deal was never discussed at the Board of Governors meeting and the league office declined to make the trade for basketball reasons."

Sources said that a group of NBA owners, assembled in New York for the ratification of the league's new labor pact with the players, protested vigorously that the league-owned Hornets were trading Paul to the star-studded Lakers and convinced NBA commissioner David Stern to intervene.

Link

What are "basketball reasons"?

[fairweatherfan]

The Lakers will forever remember  today as their "Will Solomon Moment".

[WeMadeIt17]

The Lakers will forever remember  today as their "Will Solomon Moment".

lol

[Fafnir]

In no way is this a good thing and I'm surprised how anyone could think so except for some myopic view that sees everything in a vacuum. The league agreed (or, is agreeing) to a CBA. Those are the rules. In what way is it ok for teams to be able to participate in trades and then have the league set a new standard whenever they want? It is trying to get what they couldn't achieve in bargaining (because they were absurd demands) through the league office and it is a joke. Lakers or Celtics or whomever this is not a good or ok thing to occur and I am frankly surprised at the many opinions counter to that.

pretty much my thoughts as well...very screwy

Agreed.

This sort of extra procedural things can get out of hand fast.

[The DarkPassenger]

NBA spokesman Mike Bass says: "It's not true that the owners killed the deal, the deal was never discussed at the Board of Governors meeting and the league office declined to make the trade for basketball reasons."

Sources said that a group of NBA owners, assembled in New York for the ratification of the league's new labor pact with the players, protested vigorously that the league-owned Hornets were trading Paul to the star-studded Lakers and convinced NBA commissioner David Stern to intervene.

Link

What are "basketball reasons"?

sheridanhoops: I'm told there is a school of thought in informed circles that Stern vetoed C.Paul trade because a D.Howard-to-LA trade was coming up next.

[LooseCannon]

SB Nation Rockets blog The Dream Shake is disappointed:

We were all ready to begin the Pau Gasol era in Houston. Optimism was in the air, surely Nene or even Marc Gasol would follow the bearded Spaniard into Houston for years of contention at the top of the Western Conference.

Perhaps the cost was a bit high, losing the two top scorers off the team was a bummer. Still, the Rockets finally found themselves a direction, a game plan that they had been so sorely lacking the last two years. Then, in one swift blow, it was all gone. The NBA's owners had pressured David Stern into killing the deal.

Now, we are back to the mediocre roster we'd been saddled with before. Back to relying on Kevin Martin as our best player, as Hasheem Thabeet, Jordan Hill, or Patrick Patterson as our potential starting center, to hoping that Scola's knee is completely healthy.

[Who]

SB Nation Rockets blog The Dream Shake is disappointed:

We were all ready to begin the Pau Gasol era in Houston. Optimism was in the air, surely Nene or even Marc Gasol would follow the bearded Spaniard into Houston for years of contention at the top of the Western Conference.

Perhaps the cost was a bit high, losing the two top scorers off the team was a bummer. Still, the Rockets finally found themselves a direction, a game plan that they had been so sorely lacking the last two years. Then, in one swift blow, it was all gone. The NBA's owners had pressured David Stern into killing the deal.

Now, we are back to the mediocre roster we'd been saddled with before. Back to relying on Kevin Martin as our best player, as Hasheem Thabeet, Jordan Hill, or Patrick Patterson as our potential starting center, to hoping that Scola's knee is completely healthy.

So Houston would have had about $12 million in cap space this summer. They could even increase that if they wished by amnestying Hasheem Thabeet ($5.1mil) or Jonny Flynn ($3.4mil).

Next summer, the only contracts on their books would have been Pau Gasol + Kyle Lowry + their rookies from this year's draft. About $32.5 million in total salaries including cap holds giving the Rockets up to $25 million to spend in free agency next summer if they chose to carry over their funds. Or $12 million this summer and another $12 million player next summer.

That cap space sure would have created some nice opportunities for Daryl Morey to add some talent around Pau Gasol and Kyle Lowry.

PG - K.Lowry, [need backup], J.Flynn
SG - C.Lee, T.Williams
SF - C.Budinger, [need backup]
PF - P.Patterson, M.Morris
C  - P.Gasol, H.Thabeet, J.Hill

Even if they didn't make another key addition this summer, I sure would have preferred to have watched that team play than their current group of players.

That is a really fun team right there. Highly skilled offensive center in Pau Gasol. Quick four in Patrick Patterson. Nice shooting on the wings. The dynamic Terrance Williams off the bench. Kyle Lowry's hustle in the backcourt. Nice. I like it.

I can see why they are disappointed over on DreamShake.com

[Who]

It's a little funny to see Houston and New Orleans improve and the Lakers get worse (in the short term I mean) ... and everyone freaks out because LA got Chris Paul.

[jdpapa3]

It's a little funny to see Houston and New Orleans improve and the Lakers get worse (in the short term I mean) ... and everyone freaks out because LA got Chris Paul.

Agree, but everyone and their momma knew that second shoe was going to drop eventually.