Just a few short hours after what appeared to be the first blockbuster trade of the offseason, David Stern and the NBA canceled the trade that would send Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers. It was first reported that many of the owners around the league were unhappy with the return to New Orleans only consisting of Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, although Adrian Wojnarowski recently provided some clarity into the situation:
League source on killed deal: "...(Stern) wasn't going to let Chris Paul dictate where he wanted to go."
"In the end, David didn't like that the players were dictating where they wanted to go," source says.
If true, it is good for David Stern to take a stand, even if it wasn't the league's place to veto a deal of that magnitude. While many of these players feel they control the NBA and the operations that surround it, there is still a front office in place to make all of the final decisions. It sounds like the commissioner was indeed pressured into rejecting the deal by owners, and it was his final call to cancel the deal.
Now we're left with a big, sticky, awkward mess with training camp just days away. You can't write something this juicy, folks.
For more on the Lakers, check out Silver Screen and Roll.
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