Report: Lakers To Acquire Chris Paul

[IheartVolt]

Okay, I'm having a really hard time figuring out why the league cancelled the Paul trade. Let me show you what I mean

Lakers Get C. Paul ------ Lose Gasol and Odom

Rockets Get Gasol ------- Lose Martin, Scola, Dragic and a future 1st

Hornets Get Odom, Martin, Scola, Dragic, future 1st ---- Lose Paul

I don't understand what the problem is. In my opinion, losing both Odom and Gasol is greater than gaining Paul.

Getting Gasol is much less than losing Kevin Martin, Scola, Dragic and a future 1st.

Getting Odom, Martin, Scola, Dragic and a future 1st is much better than just Paul. Odom, Martin, Scola are all players we as Hawks have coveted. Paul is great but he is just a point guard and with his, Bynum and Kobe's salary it very much handcuffs them from adding solid pieces...they are one injury away from mediocrity. Gasol and Odom really balanced that team.

I don't get the problem....This seems like a pre-ordained thing from the owners to contest. In my opinion, N.O. made out like bandits in that deal.

My only guess would be the aging contracts they would be loaded down with..Do not forget they still have to sale the Hornets..

They cannot own the team forever

[EazyRoc]

Okay, I'm having a really hard time figuring out why the league cancelled the Paul trade. Let me show you what I mean

Lakers Get C. Paul ------ Lose Gasol and Odom

Rockets Get Gasol ------- Lose Martin, Scola, Dragic and a future 1st

Hornets Get Odom, Martin, Scola, Dragic, future 1st ---- Lose Paul

I don't understand what the problem is. In my opinion, losing both Odom and Gasol is greater than gaining Paul.

Getting Gasol is much less than losing Kevin Martin, Scola, Dragic and a future 1st.

Getting Odom, Martin, Scola, Dragic and a future 1st is much better than just Paul. Odom, Martin, Scola are all players we as Hawks have coveted. Paul is great but he is just a point guard and with his, Bynum and Kobe's salary it very much handcuffs them from adding solid pieces...they are one injury away from mediocrity. Gasol and Odom really balanced that team.

I don't get the problem....This seems like a pre-ordained thing from the owners to contest. In my opinion, N.O. made out like bandits in that deal.

I think it just comes down to principle. The NBA will start to become an arms race with star players only having a small list of teams they can play for and win a championship. The rest of those teams would then be outback. Think about it. Once you get the super Lakers, some way the Knicks will add another star. Then Chicago will add a star. The Dallas will add another star etc. etc. The losing teams will draft players who, at the end of their rookie deals, will try to be a part of these mega teams. It would just continue to perpetuate a trend that will RUIN the NBA Edited December 9, 2011 by EazyRoc

[dlpin]

This would have been a bad deal for the lakers as well. Bynum is not enough to get howard, and the lakers would be completely thin. Not to mention that I doubt Paul and Kobe would coexist well.

[AHF]

Sucks for New Orleans and LA. Sucks a little less for Houston. Good for the rest of the league. Paul's options will be limited in FA this offseason.

[IheartVolt]

Sucks for New Orleans and LA. Sucks a little less for Houston. Good for the rest of the league. Paul's options will be limited in FA this offseason.

You know he is getting what he deserves for holding the Hornets hostage..I feel bad for the Hornet's fanbase-To hell w/ CP3

[sturt]

I did read somewhere that NO was taking too much salary back... but, of course, that could have been remedied, I'm sure.

[AHF]

You know he is getting what he deserves for holding the Hornets hostage..I feel bad for the Hornet's fanbase-To hell w/ CP3

I was one of the people who wanted a franchise tag so I am not weeping for Paul. He will be making 15M or so regardless.

[dlpin]

This is actually great for the Rockets. I really don't understand the rationale behind their actions.

[thecampster]

I did read somewhere that NO was taking too much salary back... but, of course, that could have been remedied, I'm sure.

They are under the cap, so they can take back extra salary. They currently only have 42 million committed which is why this needed to be a multiplayer for 1 type of a trade. The Hornets needed quality bodies on the roster. The trade a superstar, get back 4 good players. Currently on their roster, http://hoopshype.com/salaries/new_orleans.htm This trade would have taken them from 6 to 9 players on the roster, while only increasing their payroll 15 million. Martin was signed through next season, Scola through 2015, Dragic in his last year and Odom in his last year with a team option for next year. This trade would have effectively given them 11 million in expirings this year and 12 million in expiring next year. Assuming they were in a good playoff position, they could have parlayed those into good players from other teams at the trading deadline.

N.O. Got screwed. The solution for N.O. is....no Chris Paul in 12 months or 23 million in expiring contracts and a roster capable of making the playoffs.

Houston is the one that should be thanking the basketball Gods right now.

[sturt]

This is actually great for the Rockets. I really don't understand the rationale behind their actions.

Read somewhere that this was going to put them in a better position to pursue Nene.

[dlpin]

Read somewhere that this was going to put them in a better position to pursue Nene.

Still, what is the use of Nene and Gasol if the rest of the team is Johnny Flynn, Courtney Lee and Terrence Williams. They would have zero flexibility, no draft picks, and a a couple of old players signed long term.

[IheartVolt]

The following is the email in its entirety:

Commissioner,

It would be a travesty to allow the Lakers to acquire Chris Paul in the apparent trade being discussed.

This trade should go to a vote of the 29 owners of the Hornets.

Over the next three seasons this deal would save the Lakers approximately $20 million in salaries and approximately $21 million in luxury taxes. That $21 million goes to non-taxpaying teams and to fund revenue sharing.

I cannot remember ever seeing a trade where a team got by far the best player in the trade and saved over $40 million in the process. And it doesn’t appear that they would give up any draft picks, which might allow to later make a trade for Dwight Howard. (They would also get a large trade exception that would help them improve their team and/or eventually trade for Howard.) When the Lakers got Pau Gasol (at the time considered an extremely lopsided trade) they took on tens of millions in additional salary and luxury tax and they gave up a number of prospects (one in Marc Gasol who may become a max-salary player).

I just don’t see how we can allow this trade to happen.

I know the vast majority of owners feel the same way that I do.

When will we just change the name of 25 of the 30 teams to the Washington Generals?

Please advise….

Dan Gilbert

E-mail from Cavs owner to Stern

Edited December 9, 2011 by savwboy

[IheartVolt]

Seems the owners are the ones who killed the deal

[IheartVolt]

Lakers also had an secondary move in place for a PF after the Paul trade..Hmmmm wonder who?

[TheTruth]

And now this:

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/09/chris-paul-reportedly-considering-legal-action-against-league/#

Dude might sue the NBA for not getting traded to LA.

[Wurider05]

There is justice after all. Today the sun will shine a little brighter.

[Randy]

Looks to me like the Lakers greed has gotten the best of them. Had they just waited a while they could have probably made the deal. But to do it on the day that the owners voted to accept the new CBA when the whole lockout was sold to fans on the basis of competitive balance (not saying fans were buying but that's another story) was just too much. Maybe a New Years day deal would have gone down a lot easier when everyone was waking up with a hangover and watching college bowl games.

[ATLSmith]

This is all nuts...

The selfish Hawks fan in me says this is great.

The reasonable, free market loving guy says... WTF NBA!

[sturt]

Smith.... amen, brother.

I keep thinking to myself, "what if there was another trade that would have happened for the Hawks if this went down?"

We'll never know.

Edited December 9, 2011 by sturt

[AHF]

The NBA was damned if they did, damned if they didn't on this. That said, I still think they made the wrong choice by barring the management of the Hornets from taking what they thought was the best deal after they set them up to run independently of the league. It looks terrible from the outside to see the league blocking things like this. There would, however, have been an equal outcry after the Lakers picked up the league's best PG, kept their best trade asset (Bynum), kept all their picks, and saved themselves a boat load of money about the franchise being run by the league and being used to enrich the league's biggest winner/spender.