The three team trade that was supposed to bring Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers has reportedly been axed by the league.
According to Yahoo! Sports, NBA owners were livid at the Board of Governors meeting at the prospect of the league-owned New Orleans Hornets trading away Paul to the Lakers. The backlash effectively killed the deal and any shot of it getting made in the near future, apparently. Instead, there seems to be a push by Commissioner David Stern now to have Hornets GM Dell Demps try to work things out with Paul in New Orleans.
This appears to be another case of what caused this summer's lockout in the first place – bitter, angry owners who can’t win anything with their awful teams trying to punish a big market team for getting better.
Opposing Views will continue to monitor this story as it develops.
Update #1: As per ESPN's Mark Stein, "One source close to the three-team Chris Paul trade talks just told http://ESPN.com: 'The deal is off.'"
Update #2: As per Yahoo! Sports, "The NBA has caved to pressure from owners that the appearance of this deal, on heels of lockout, had to be stopped, sources tell Y! Sports."
Update #3: As per Yahoo! Sports, "'The deal is off,' a source involved in the talks tells Y! Sports. 'It's dead.'"
All the players involved in the trade have been told to report to their teams for the start of training camp on Friday."
Update #5: As per Yahoo! Sports, "New Orleans GM Dell Demps is 'disconsolate' over this stunning, heavy-handed move from the commissioner's office, source tells Y! Sports."
Related Content
Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert Killed the Chris Paul to Lakers Deal
Phil Jackson Foresaw Chris Paul to the Lakers Failing
Latest NBA Free Agent News, Rumors and Updates
Lakers, Hornets, Rockets Agree to Trade Involving Chris Paul, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom