If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
That’s exactly what all parties involved in Thursday’s originally proposed three-way trade sending Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers are doing.
ESPN is reporting the New Orleans Hornets, Houston Rockets and Lakers have agreed to a new framework of a deal that will still send the All-Star point guard to Hollywood.
Complete details of the deal are still unknown, but Y! Sports reports that the players leaving Houston, Luis Scola and Kevin Martin, will not change. The principle changes will involve moving parts between New Orleans and Los Angeles. In the original deal, the Lakers agreed to send Pau Gasol to Houston and Lamar Odom to the Hornets.
Now it’s up to David Stern, the NBA commissioner and overseer of the league-owned Hornets, to approve the deal – again.
In a public statement, the commissioner said New Orleans “was better served with Chris in a Hornets uniform than by the outcome of the terms of that trade.” The New York Times also reported Friday that Stern urged the Hornets to get a “better, younger package” to ensure long-term viability.
His reasoning is debatable, especially when you consider the wide support Hornets general manager Dell Demps received for the draft pick and trade assets New Orleans would have received. Unfortunately, there is no one with the power to debate Stern.
It’s hard to believe, based on the public and media backlash stemming from the league blocking the original deal, that Stern would even consider rejecting another proposal.
Then again, Stern hasn’t exactly appeared to care about his public persona in recent months.
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See Also:
- By Nixing The Chris Paul Deal, David Stern Has Set A Shocking Precedent For The NBA
- Cavs Owner Compares The NBA To The Harlem Globetrotters
- UPDATE: NBA Has Killed Trade That Would Have Sent Chris Paul To The Lakers