Paul to Lakers falling apart

[Ray_Dogg]

-Woj

NBA owners have pushed commissioner David Stern to kill the deal sending Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell Y! Sports.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

-Stein

ESPN CP3 trade latest: Trade with Lakers will NOT go through Friday and Chris Paul is expected in Hornets camp, according to sources

 

[Ray_Dogg]

-Woj

Owners were irate in Board of Governors meeting with Stern, livid that the league-owned Hornets were allowed to make Paul deal, sources say.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

The NBA is now pushing New Orleans GM Dell Demps to pull the plug on the trade and keep Chris Paul, league sources tell Y! Sports.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

-Stein

One source close to the three-team Chris Paul trade talks just told ESPN.com: "The deal is off."

 

[Ray_Dogg]

-Woj

The NBA has killed the proposed deal to send Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers, league sources tell Yahoo! Sports.

 

[recon]

wtf

 

[wildturkey]

All LA bias aside, I'd be super pissed if I'm NO's management. They get a nice haul in the proposed deal.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

Stern kills Lakers' deal for Paul - NBA - Yahoo! Sports

 

[CameronFrye]

What a bunch of moronic, short-sighted owners. Sure, killing the deal prevents the Lakers from getting better. But it also just cost the owners a lot of money. Chris Paul has already told the Hornets that he's not going to re-sign with them. By making the deal he did, Dell Demps got a lot of good players and pieces - and picks - to help rebuild the team. Killing the trade means that Paul will play for the Hornets this season and then will leave after the season ends, giving the Hornets NOTHING in return. A basic look at the team says that the Hornets are probably about $50 million less valuable than they were before the trade was vetoed.

 

[wildturkey]

If what Woj has reported is true, the League is basically forcing him to stay in NO. That's effed up

 

[MacJ88]

The NBA is now letting owners dictate other teams transactions? The league had the chance to make the NBA a more balanced league with the new CBA, they totally failed in that regard so now whenever a big market franchise acquires a big time player from a small market team, they are just going to veto the trade? Am I missing something here or has this league become a complete joke?

 

[CameronFrye]

The NBA is now letting owners dictate other teams transactions? The league had the chance to make the NBA a more balanced league with the new CBA, they totally failed in that regard so now whenever a big market franchise acquires a big time player from a small market team, they are just going to veto the trade? Am I missing something here or has this league become a complete joke?

The league already is a complete joke.

Right now, the league owns the Hornets so technically each of the other owners in the league is part owner of the Hornets. It's a messed up situation and I highly doubt that Stern would have pulled the plug if the deal were between the Spurs and the Nuggets (or any two teams that have separate owners).

The lockout was prompted in part by the fact that players were forcing their way onto teams like Miami and New York and there was nothing the owners could do about it. The rules as they were set up gave the teams incentive to trade guys like LeBron and Bosh instead of letting them walk or trying to force them to stay. When the Paul deal came down, those owners who were not in on the deal got jealous that the Lakers were (in their minds) getting stronger and forced Stern to step up. I disagree with the owners because trading Gasol AND Odom left Los Angeles very thin in the front court. I honestly don't think they would have advanced past the second round of the playoffs with the lineup they had.

Regardless of the fact that the NBA owns New Orleans, this is a VERY bad move and sets a terrible precedent because now if Dell Demps attempts to trade Paul again, he's not going to get the kinds of offers he had been getting before the veto. The Hornets are screwed because Paul is going to sleepwalk through the season with little or no regard for his team and then he's going to bolt once the abbreviated 66-game season is over.

 

[CameronFrye]

If I were a part of the Golden State front office, I would call Demps right now and offer Ellis and Charlie Bell and Louis Amundson for Paul. There's no way the league vetoes that deal since both the Warriors and the Hornets blow and Demps could make the case that acquiring Ellis is the best he could do under the circumstances.

 

[CitySushi]

If I were a part of the Golden State front office, I would call Demps right now and offer Ellis and Charlie Bell and Louis Amundson for Paul. There's no way the league vetoes that deal since both the Warriors and the Hornets blow and Demps could make the case that acquiring Ellis is the best he could do under the circumstances.

Rondo and Jeff Green deal is still on the table, and Demps would likely go that route over Monta.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

Ellis, Udoh, Thompson would probably get it done.

 

[Heathbar012]

What a bunch of moronic, short-sighted owners. Sure, killing the deal prevents the Lakers from getting better. But it also just cost the owners a lot of money. Chris Paul has already told the Hornets that he's not going to re-sign with them. By making the deal he did, Dell Demps got a lot of good players and pieces - and picks - to help rebuild the team. Killing the trade means that Paul will play for the Hornets this season and then will leave after the season ends, giving the Hornets NOTHING in return. A basic look at the team says that the Hornets are probably about $50 million less valuable than they were before the trade was vetoed.

+1. I, like most people outside of LA County, really enjoy when Laker/Dodger/USC/Kings/Ducks/Galaxy fans are upset, but this was/is bullshit. Stern has suits made out of kittens and baby seals.

 

[CameronFrye]

Rondo and Jeff Green deal is still on the table, and Demps would likely go that route over Monta.

You're right.

 

[CameronFrye]

+1. I, like most people outside of LA County, really enjoy when Laker/Dodger/USC/Kings/Ducks/Galaxy fans are upset, but this was/is bullshit. Stern has suits made out of kittens and baby seals.

LMFAO. That is teh statement of teh week.

 

[ChuckDurn]

When the Paul deal came down, those owners who were not in on the deal got jealous that the Lakers were (in their minds) getting stronger and forced Stern to step up. I disagree with the owners because trading Gasol AND Odom left Los Angeles very thin in the front court. I honestly don't think they would have advanced past the second round of the playoffs with the lineup they had.

This.

It's huge. Everybody assumes that because the Lakers were getting CP3, that they were getting better. I disagree - their success in the past few years we due largely to their overpowering size, length, and versatility in the front line between Bynum, Gasol, and Odom. (And oh, yeah, Kobe had something to do with it.) This would be banking their success on CP3, Kobe, and Bynum - and how many good knees exist among the 3 of those? Their entire style of game would have to change significantly. Aside from his injury history, Bynum is also foul prone, so he probably can't be counted on for more than 30 minutes/game (at most). And unless other teams were moronic enough to shell more talent to the Lakers to fill the trade exception they'd get (unlikely, if you ask me), you basically are looking at no real opportunity for the Lakers to improve. Yes, CP3 and Kobe are fantastic. But Metta World Peace is on the decline, and they don't really have anybody else on the front line. I would feel much more confident about the Warriors' ability to beat the Lakers with only 3 real good players (CP3, Kobe, and Bynum) than I ever felt about them going against the front line of Gasol, Odom, and Bynum. I bet a lot of other teams feel the same.

Then there's the little matter of "can Kobe play off the ball"..... probably, but this might also limit his effectiveness. He's been the Man in LA, because he's always had the ball, but that might change. How would that dynamic go? Can't be sure.

I think this was, and still is, the best deal New Orleans could get. And I actually think it weakens the Lakers. One knee injury among those 3 guys, who have a history of that, and they'd be in huge trouble.