Stern Stops CP3 to Lakers Deal

Still Enemies: Paul and Bryant will continue to play against each other
in the West after Stern vetoed the trade

For a little over an hour last night their was excitement among NBA fans everywhere. News broke that New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul had been traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in a three team deal that also sent Lamar Odom to New Orleans and Pau Gasol to Houston. For weeks it had been rumored that LA wanted Paul and Orlando big man Dwight Howard. Along with Kobe Bryant, the trio would create a Big 3 that would dominate the West and challenge Miami for the NBA title year after year. With the deal last night, LA moved one step closer to assembling the team they and their fans have been dreaming of. Social media sites blew up and ESPN was in a frenzy...and then David Stern stepped in.

The Hornets, as of last year, are league owned yet Stern and the league never interfered with the trade negotiations. However, minutes after the deal was done, Stern put his foot down and stopped the deal. Chris Paul tweeted, "WoW" and Lamar Odom tweeted, "When a team trades u and it doesn't go down? Now what?" Paul was reportedly working with NBPA head Billy Hunter and sources say he may take legal action against the NBA. The buzz around the league is that several owners, Dan Gilbert and Mark Cuban have been named, complained to Stern about the deal. Owners in small markets do not want their teams raided for their superstars by large market franchises such as LA, New York or Chicago. New Orleans, being from a small market, would be losing their best player to Los Angeles. Since Stern technically owns the team, owners complained that he shouldn't give up the team's best player. What this sounds like is a bunch of whiny babies not getting their way.

The small market owners and Stern are not in favor of "superpowers" and that's exactly what they think is happening here with Paul being dealt. However, there are so many things wrong with Stern's decision to stop the deal it's not even funny. Owners, and some fans, are acting like the Lakers are getting Chris Paul gift wrapped to them without giving up much. That couldn't be further from the truth. If the trade ever goes through, LA is losing two of it's top three scorers, the Sixth Man of the Year, 33.2 points and 18.9 rebounds per game. Gasol and Odom have won two titles with the Lakers and been major contributors to those teams. The Hornets and Rockets weren't getting a couple of bums in the deal.

If anything, the Hornets are smart for dealing Paul now. They saw the cloud of drama that hung over Denver last year while the Nuggets tried to figure out what to do with Carmelo Anthony. Eventually Melo would be traded to New York, but Denver had to deal with the constant rumors and media scrutiny for half of the season. No organization wants that and CP3 has made it known he will be catching the first train out of New Orleans if he reaches free agency. The man simply doesn't want to be there. He is going to do the same thing Melo did and demand a trade all year long. The Hornets are wise to move him now and avoid the drama and controversy that will surely come their way. Also, the Hornets were going to get something for Chris Paul. Stern, who probably thinks he is doing the right thing, just failed miserably. What if the Hornets can't come up with a deal to trade Paul? Then he leaves in free agency and the Hornets get nothing for him. Then they can thank David Stern for that one.

Stern has not had a very good six months as the
commissioner of the NBA

What does this mean for the other teams? Today Dwight Howard has requested a trade to the Brooklyn Nets. If that happens then the fantasy of he, Paul and Kobe playing together in LA will probably never happen. For at least an hour it looked like a strong possibility but now it seems impossible. David Stern didn't accomplish anything positive by blocking the trade. He kept a disgruntled superstar in New Orleans who will basically hold the team ransom until he gets what he wants and he caused problems for LA. They now have two stars who feel unwanted and aren't sure of where they stand in the organization. Even Houston is angry with the commissioner because they needed Gasol to replace the spot left by Yao Ming's retirement.

David Stern has had one of the worst six months anyone could possibly have. He did a miserable job handling the lockout and, in my mind, came out as the loser of that situation. Now, he has angered at least three teams in his own league and has made three stars unhappy. I have no idea what he thought he would accomplish but he has put a lot of people in an awkward spot. What's he going to do now? Stop Dwight Howard from going to the Nets? Stern made one of the most foolish decisions ever. Howard will most likely be in Brooklyn by the end of the week and Paul, Odom and Gasol will be at home, avoiding training camp. The three organizations have one man to thank for that: David Stern.