NBA: Chris Paul-To-Lakers Trade Veto Still A Mystery
Back in 2011, Chris Paul was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers only to be immediately vetoed by then NBA commissioner David Stern, infamously citing “basketball reasons” as the only cause for his decision.
It is maddening to think that a move that altered the course of NBA history so much was explained with such a bland, unspecific response. The decision came down from the commissioner’s office December 18th, 2011, the same day that the fourth lockout in NBA history came to a close after 161 days.
The lockout was primarily due to the fact that the majority of owners had the desire to keep star players like Chris Paul in small market towns like Charlotte. They wanted to implement a hard salary cap and a much steeper luxury tax for teams who wanted or needed to go over the hard cap to improve their team. The division of revenue was also a big problem during the negotiation process.
The NBA appointed Dell Demps as the Hornets general manager after former owner George Shinn was pressured into selling the team after sexual assault and kidnapping allegations became a national headline. Demps was formerly an NBA player and was the Spurs’ vice president of basketball operations before getting the Hornets GM position.
Demps was at the head of the vetoed CP3-to-Lakers trade, as there was pressure to move Paul because of his publicly noted interest of playing in a bigger market like that of Los Angeles or New York after his contract with New Orleans came to an end. Rumors of a CP3 trade had been swirling for months leading up to the lockout, so news of a potential trade didn’t come as much of a surprise.
The trade that David Stern vetoed between the Hornets and the Lakers also involved the Houston Rockets.
Oct 8, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Pau Gasol (16) pulls down a rebound against the Atlanta Hawks during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
The Proposed Trade
Hornets receive: F Lamar Odom, F Kevin Martin, G Goran Dragic, G Luis Scola, and 2012 first round pick from Rockets
Lakers receive: G Chris Paul
Rockets receive: F Pau Gasol
As you can see, the Hornets actually were offered a pretty decent package from the Lakers and Rockets to lure CP3 out of New Orleans
Dragic was a young, up and coming point guard, Martin and Odom were both borderline all-stars at the time, and Scola was a capable, offensive-minded power forward as well. With all that in mind, the Hornets would have acquired potentially four starting caliber players and a first round draft pick for a player planning to leave in free agency anyways.
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So why did Stern step in and use his commissioner power to veto the trade?
The answer could be that when put to a vote, 27 out of the 30 NBA team owners said they had a problem with the deal. If you do the math, the three teams that said they didn’t have a problem with the trade were involved in it. The most notable owners to come out publicly against the trade were Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
In a letter to Stern, Gilbert wrote, “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.”
He went on to mention that the Lakers would also have the possibility to acquire Dwight Howard easily in a later trade because there were no draft picks from the Lakers involved in the CP3 trade.
Cuban made it known that he believed keeping NBA stars in the small markets where they were drafted would be best for the NBA and would keep fans interested in all teams and not just the large-market teams like in New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles.
With all of the backlash and opposition the trade was getting, along with the fact that it came to light the day that the lockout came to an end, Stern decided he couldn’t allow it to happen. Teams were not supposed to engage in NBA activities during the lockout, which makes the negotiations that most likely took place during the lockout should never have happened????
Next, Stern actually trades Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers, who play in the same arena and the same town as the LA Lakers!
“I knew we were doing the best thing for New Orleans and that was my job,” Stern said when asked about the deal. “You have to stick with what you think was right. I must confess it wasn’t a lot of fun, but I don’t get paid to have fun.”
The trade went down December 15th, 2011, exactly one week after Stern nixed the CP3 to the Lakers deal.
The Official Trade
Here’s what the trade with the Clippers looked like:
Hornets receive: G Eric Gordon, C Chris Kaman, F Al-Farouq Aminu, Minnesota’s 2012 first round pick, and two future second round picks
Clippers receive: G Chris Paul
Minnesota’s 2012 first round pick ended up being the No. 10 overall pick in the NBA Draft in which they drafted Austin Rivers from Duke.
In my opinion, the Hornets got the bad end of this deal. Especially when you consider the fact that they could have acquired the Dragic/Odom/Martin/Scola package from the Lakers.
David Stern made the wrong decision by vetoing the initial offer.
The fallout from this decision was bigger than any of us can possibly imagine.
Consider Lamar Odom
Odom was a 12 year vet. In his entire career, he had only played in Los Angeles up to this point, first with the Clippers, then with the Lakers. He was devastated by the news of potentially being traded to New Orleans and never really got over it. This led to his trade to the Dallas Mavericks December 12th, 2011, just four days after the Stern veto.
Shortly after hearing the news, Odom tweeted:
“When a team trades you and it doesn’t go down? Now what?”
Not a big deal?
Odom scored a career average of 14.6 points per game over those first twelve seasons and had never had a season with less than 10.8 PPG before the veto. After the veto, he never scored over 6.6 PPG over a season again.
He retired just two years later after playing with the Mavs, then again with the Clippers. Kobe Bryant was publicly critical of the trade, which makes the multiple attempts at moving Odom very surprising.
April 13, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) speaks to media following the 101-96 victory against the Utah Jazz at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Consider the Lakers and Kobe Bryant’s legacy
Do you think if Chris Paul is playing for the Lakers, they would have had so much trouble luring a big free agent the last four or five summers?
Not only would the Lakers have had Paul and Bryant, but they also still could have acquired Dwight Howard as they later did anyways. A CP3/Kobe/Howard trio probably would have worked out much better than it did with just Kobe and Howard. CP3 would have been the perfect pass-first point guard to make the Lakers a contender for years to come.
What about Kobe?
His career ended terribly. One of the best players in the history of the NBA retired one year removed from the worst season in Lakers’ franchise history. He had nothing but youth around him after Howard eventually departed due to the fact that no other all-star caliber free agent would sign with the Lakers. The Lakers’ front office had move on since Kobe could no longer produce by himself.
His career would have been tremendously better and he probably would have another ring or two if David Stern didn’t decide to veto the trade where CP3 landed with the Lakers.
Sep 26, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Dwight Howard (8) poses for photographs during Atlanta Hawks media day at The W Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Consider Dwight Howard
Do you think Dwight Howard’s career would have spiraled downward like it has over the last few seasons if he was paired with Kobe AND the best point guard in the game in Chris Paul?
Howard would have likely wanted to stay in LA despite his differences with Kobe. Chris Paul is a guy that is very well liked by all of his peers and I strongly believe that Howard would not have been able to turn down potentially playing with Chris Paul for the rest of his career, given the option.
His numbers also would be much better than what they have been in reality. He never really fit with James Harden in Houston and obviously wasn’t a fit with JUST Kobe in LA.
Paul would have been able to double his assist per game numbers (not really) with Kobe and Dwight as his top passing options. Paul has been the best floor general that we have seen in the NBA for years and he would have been able to please both guys with his superb passing ability.
His career could be tremendously better if David Stern didn’t decide to veto the trade where CP3 landed with the Lakers.
Oct 5, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe (2) walks off the court for a timeout in the first half of the game against the Utah Jazz at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports
Consider Eric Bledsoe
Eric Bledsoe was a young guard for the Clippers that was in line to be their starting point guard for years to come. He was traded shortly after the Clippers acquired CP3 because the Clippers knew he was too talented to come off of the bench and play sparingly with CP3.
Bledsoe could have stayed in Los Angeles and played with guys like Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, who would have been with the Clippers anyways, as they were both drafted by the team. Instead, Bledsoe was traded to the Suns, who have made a habit of trading away almost any talent that comes their way recently, with the exception of Bledsoe.
His career could be tremendously better if David Stern didn’t decide to veto the trade where CP3 landed with the Lakers.
Oct 4, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) shoots over Indiana Pacers forward Thaddeus Young (21) during the first quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Consider Anthony Davis
If the Lakers trade isn’t vetoed by David Stern, the Hornets probably would not have struggled as much as they have over this five years since. If that’s the case, they certainly would not landed the pick that they did in order to draft Kentucky’s Anthony Davis.
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The Hornets had a 13.7 percent chance (the fourth best) to land the top pick heading into the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery. With the starting roster they would have had from the original trade, I believe they would have AT LEAST been contenders to make the playoffs in 2011. I would guess that they would have made it.
If the Hornets were better that season, they likely would not have been in contention to nab Anthony Davis with the #1 overall pick that year. Davis would have likely ended up with Washington, Cleveland, Sacramento, or Charlotte, which in any case would completely shake up the NBA today.
Maybe I’m just looking too far into it. Maybe I’m not.
David Stern’s decision to veto this trade may not have over stepped his commissioner rights, but he altered the course of NBA history (negatively in my opinion) and the careers of not just those involved in the vetoed deal.
What makes this even worse is the fact that Paul was dealt to the Clippers, who playing in the same city and even the same stadium as the Lakers. Now I’m just repeating myself.
Look, I’m not even a Lakers fan. In fact, I’m a Celtics fan. I have no bias here, but I believe strongly that David Stern did the wrong thing here by vetoing the initial trade where Chris Paul ended up with the Lakers. Allowing him to go to the same city is another problem in it’s own right.
The explanation we got from the man who made the final decision to veto the trade?
Two words.
“Basketball reasons.”