This was just sent out from NBA headquarters:
“Since the NBA purchased the New Orleans Hornets, final responsibility for significant management decisions lies with the Commissioner’s Office in consultation with team chairman Jac Sperling. All decisions are made on the basis of what is in the best interests of the Hornets. In the case of the trade proposal that was made to the Hornets for Chris Paul, we decided, free from the influence of other NBA owners, that the team was better served with Chris in a Hornets uniform than by the outcome of the terms of that trade.”
So, I’m hearing that the Knicks offered Amare for CP.
Since that’s no longer possible, what are the odds that STAT ever plays a lick of defense or hustles for a rebound ever again? The dude’s GOT to be pissed. If you thought he was lazy on D before… you ain’t seen nothing yet.
The Billups amnesty situation isn’t so good either. This does not bode well.
Shame they didn’t use “basketball reasons” in their statement.
The trade would have been good for the Hornets considering their circumstances, though they could have done better. I think that trading Kaman + Bledsoe + Aminu + 2012 MIN pick for Paul would have been the best trade. I think a three-team deal substituting Houston for Minnesota could have been interesting.
To MIN: Pau Gasol (Incentive for Love to re-sign; team has a shot at the playoffs; Rubio gets someone he’s familiar with)
To LAL: Chris Paul, Darko Milicic (Lakers get their star; they also restock in the frontcourt)
To NOH: Derrick Williams, Lamar Odom, Anthony Randolph, Wes Johnson (NOH gets 3 good young players; Odom could be traded for a 4th; cap space is saved; NOH becomes what MIN was)
I still think that the haul they would have received from HOU + LAL is good despite the lack of draft picks or young talent. If they let him walk for nothing, it’s not like they can tank easily considering they’re obligated to spend 85% of the salary cap under the new CBA.
If they could let him walk for nothing (a.k.a. compete for a championship this year) then they probably would. It would probably be the best thing for NOH to do – see their star player attempt to lead them to glory for one last time. Unfortunately, it’s not realistic.
that minny pick that the Clips have is pretty solid trade bait. but it seems clear the demps wanted players that could play NOW — bledsoe/aminu/kaman don’t come very close to scola/odom/martin/dragic.
if stern was ever willing to let demps cut a deal, he should have been extremely clear about what his priorities were and what time frame demps was expected to use up looking for the best offer.
this is just a terrible way to run a franchise, even if it’s NOT being held back by a disgusting mix of leaguewide collusion and conflict of interest.
So, I’m hearing that the Knicks offered Amare for CP.
Since that’s no longer possible, what are the odds that STAT ever plays a lick of defense or hustles for a rebound ever again? The dude’s GOT to be pissed. If you thought he was lazy on D before… you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Doesn’t look good for Rondo, Odom, or Gasol either.
weird, doubled up my posts here. sorry folks.
Shouldn’t the decision that “the team was better served with Chris in a Hornets uniform” be made by Dell Demps and not David Stern? Stern is just trying to save face after promising team owners that their star players wouldn’t leave small markets under the new CBA. Demps should’ve resigned as a statement, and tell Stern to take his job.
Hell why does the league even have GM’s if trades are subject to veto from the basketball God, David Stern.
usually, the league just double checks to make sure the trade doesn’t break any rules. this is a uniquely bad situation that could EASILY have been avoided with no cost to anyone.
The most charitable take I can manage: Stern wants a trade that leaves the Hornets with something to sell to a new owner.
The Most ($$$) Cynical: It’s bad for both Paul and the Hornets/Lakers/Rockets, but refusing to trade Paul means he stays in NO or whoever gets him doesn’t have to pay full price (which Mark Cuban, etc, would love).
The Most (Competition) Cynical: A win-win-win trade that creates two contenders in the West that depends on a league-owned team is untenable to the rest of the owners.
The Most (Anti-Player) Cynical: the league office hates the idea of CP going where he wants for full stay-at-home money and will do anything they can to stop it from happening.
The Most Impossibly Bizarre: Somebody out there gives a slimy green shit what Dan Gilbert thinks.
Oh yeah, a pissed off Chris Paul who might well lawyer up, guaranteed to bolt at the first opportunity anyway for nothing is much better than starting a legit rebuild with three all star type talents and draft picks. Absolutely.
Maybe not better, but with those 4 players you are taking on salary, and only getting one draft pick. With the talent there, I think we can all agree the Hornets can just make the playoffs. If they resign West, they don’t have salary space, they won’t get high draft picks, and maybe be what Houston was before, just a mediocre team. Now I’m not saying that proposed trade was bad, but its not really made for rebuilding, and if they can get just a good young player, maybe a vet and a bunch of draft pics, that would make more sense.
Have you seen prospective owners lining up to buy the Hornets,,,, WITH CHRIS PAUL? Maybe, just maybe, the NBA is judging the wisdom of this move in light of concerns for ability to sell the team? Do you think that should be a priority of theirs regarding NO? I certainly can’t say I know this, but we should be wise enough to consider that business men are making a business decision, when that’s what’s needed for the franchise.
Don’t get caught up too much in the Dan Gilbert email hype. He’s only one loose cannon owner among 29 who Stern had to serve in this decision. We don’t see what the other owners said about it, but the majority seem to be saying “no, not in the best interests of the Hornets’ ability to be attractive to buyers”, maybe?.
Well, what if they managed to bring in a Prokhorov-type? CP3 might actually *consider* sticking around if a real owner was actually committed to winning.
I mean, I seriously doubt that this does ANYTHING but screw the Hornets for the benefit of teams who want a shot as signing him for cheap(er) when he hits free agency.
But for all intents and purposes, the Hornets are now a homeless man’s version of an expansion team.
But the league DOES need to sell the Hornets to somebody… hard to do that without any reasonable promise for the future.
I can almost see why Stern would do this, but it seems like a terrible move from any basketball standpoint.
If I’m a prospective owner, do I want a mediocre team, with a bunch of inflated salaries, good enough to possibly make playoffs, but with nobody that’s a real draw, unable to draft high for a few years (particularly this coming stacked draft, where I might just get a franchise player), or do I want to hold out for a Curry, or Gordon, and if not available, have a ton of cap space, high draft pick in 2012, and the ability to plan my own rebuild?
If I’m an owner, I go for the latter, rather than being maxed out with little hope of taking steps toward improvement for a few years.
There are only 30 NBA franchises in existence. Their individual prices have shown the upward trajectory of 2005-era McMansions but with the staying power of a left-handed major league reliever. Do not believe the lie that no one wants to buy the New Orleans Hornets.
Chris Paul is gone in 7 months. Maybe a team that’s totally bottomed out, finished in last place and is guaranteed to come in dead last in attendance for two to three years is a better investment than one with no true championship hopes but a real chance of making the playoffs with a group of competent veteran players. Maybe. Who knows? But is the difference in the valuations between those two hypothetical teams so great that the league should embrace the option of widespread collusion, creating the perception that whiny small-market owners who overpaid for their teams can get their way simply by slamming their fists and holding their breath until their face turns blue?
And even if the answer to that question is yes, then the Clearly Genius Businessmen that double as NBA owners should have considered that reality when they publicly suggested that they’d put an autonomous GM in position to run one of the 30 member organizations within the NBA. Likewise, they should have told the players playing in New Orleans that they were subject to a different set of labor restrictions than the players on the league’s 29 other teams.
At the end of the day, let’s face it: the NBA shouldn’t be owning a team, it’s a complete conflict of interest.
Explain this one to me Chris:
So the NBA is ok with fixing games with the Lakers-Kings and Lakers-Blazers to advance to the Finals. But it’s not ok with LA getting another superstar???
Lol did the NBA also make Horry’s shot fall in?
I have given this a bit of thought and this actually isn’t that bad of the league to do. Lets face it, the Hornets need young and exciting players, and what they are getting in return is the Rockets core, which many people might not come out to the stadium and watch. Thats why this deal doesn’t make any sense on the business side.
Now I’ve heard many people saying that Paul will leave and they won’t get anything for him. Just think about it though, where is he going to go as a free agent? The Knicks don’t have cap room, the Lakers don’t either. The only possible championship contending teams in bigger markets with cap space in the summer of 2012 are the Mavs and the Clippers. The Rockets have an outside shot as well if they get more players before the summer or if their young guys develop. I’m not talking about the Nets because they have Deron and might get Dwight. So that only leaves the Mavs with an aging Dirk, and the Clippers, who Paul apparently doesn’t want to commit to now. I would say the Hornets have a chance of keeping him.
Stern also might not care as much about avoiding the rigamarole of not having traded CP by the time the season starts.
Still, it’s unbelievable that he screwed over so many teams, most notably Hornets’ GM Dell Demps.
I’m thinking Demps mat have screwed over himself, or one of his people who leaked this deal before owner’s approval, which is usually required.
I’m calling BS on Stern. He doesn’t want to trade Paul so he can sell the team for more money. He does not care whatsoever that this trade actually helps the Hornets! They can either take this trade and get 2 solid big men a capable scorer and a solid backup plus a first rounder or just let him go for nothing after the season.
“He doesn’t want to trade Paul so he can sell the team for more money.”
That may well be exactly why this decision (by majority of 29 owners if finalized) is being made, and when you’re having difficulty fining an owner, can the franchise possibly be better served than making the smartest business decision?
Yeah i agree that’s what I mean I’m saying why would he come out yesterday and say it was for basketball reasons? That’s what I don’t understand. The move was clearly about selling the team for more money so why would he say that?
No idea what he meant by that. The expression “basketball reasons” can mean at least half a dozen very different things. Akin to gobbly gook we get from lawyers all the time.
The team is better off letting CP3 walk away for nothing at the end…. The 3 players coming wasn’t going to make them a playoff team yet alone a contending team. They may as well let him… not sign D. West, have a ton of cap space to start over. Having a mediocre team wasn’t going to land them high draft pic anyway, which what the need to rebuild.
The Rockets almost made the playoffs last year with Scola, Martin, Kyle Lowry, and Aaron Brooks. Scola, Martin, Odom, Landry, Ariza, Jack, and Okafor is good enough to make the playoffs. Plus 2 first rounders next year in a loaded draft. That’s not a bad way to start rebuilding.
You honestly believe that squad can make the playoff in a stack western conference with the Clippers, Utah getting better and competing for a spot. The first rounders will be late in the first round anyway. What it needs to do is maintain it cap space and not use it with bad contracts like that of Scola and Martin. With cap space, high draft pics, that how you rebuild. Not with almost get you to the playoff players
Utah, Dallas, and Houston got worse and Denver got way worse. The Clippers aren’t all of a sudden going to be a 50 win team. I can see them getting the 7 or 8 seed in the West. It’s a shortened season, the schedule is going to be brutal. Teams with depth are going to be at a huge advantage.
Brian… I don’ t think the goal should be to build a team that’s a possible 7 and 8 seed and eat up or put you over the cap with very little room for improvement. Look at OKC… cap space and high lottery pics. Sure it will take a bit of time, but it’s better then handcuffing the team cap space with two players on the wrong side of 30. You’re not building a team just for one shorten season.
Marcus, I’ve been all over the web and you and I seem to be the only one saying this. Keep in mind, the NBA has been looking for a new owner for NO for some time now. They may have some insider info on what the prospective owners’ concerns have been. They look at this deal, which either chews up, or exceeds, all cap space for a team that will lose money, perhaps get close or barely make the playoffs, taking them out of the lottery in a stacked draft. I think most people, including the entire media, seem to be affected by the shock in all the outrage that’s being expressed and it’s clouding the view of a different perspective on this..
I agree with you p00ka… however the process in which the NBA did the veto is wrong… However the GM should have known that and not make a deal that will keep his team in the land of mediocre for the next 4 years with no high draft pics and barely making the playoffs… if you want to rebuild… cap space and high draft pics
Yeah, don’t know who leaked the trade, but NO’s GM shouldn’t have agreed to such a move without approval from the teams owners (the League) hmmmm, could this mess be all due to a media leak that shouldn’t have happened until the deal was signed?
That’s BS!!!!! It is a fat lie!!!
Financially, once Chris Paul leaves in the off-season, the franchise will lose value. I seriously doubt the nba is going to sell the team at a loss (Mark Cuban may have some words to say about that) – thus this decision was incredibly short sighted.
Noah, What happens right before a current team owner is trying to sell a team to new ownership, they dump all bad contract and sell to team to the new owners so they can have cap flexibility and less expenditures. Sure the team is less valuable with CP3 gone. However it would be in worst shape with those bad contracts from KM, LS, and LO on it and in a market where it’s losing money and very little ways to improve the product on the floor.