csprtContainer(); The Chris Paul to the Lakers deal is now dead, vetoed by the league office. So this is what happens when 29 owners each own 1/29th of one of the NBA’s 30 teams? This is just nuts. Apparently, if enough of those owners are dead set against the Hornets trading their best player, they have the right to veto it. Who knew? And in a word: Wow. Or as Paul said on Twitter: WoW. This is such uncharted territory, it is hard to fathom what
Blockbuster trade: Chris Paul going to the Lakers
Mark Heisler was the first to tell you this was a possibility nearly two weeks ago. Now, it appears it is happening. Multiple news outlets are reporting that the Lakers, Rockets and Hornets have agreed to a three-way deal sending Chris Paul to the Lakers. New Orleans will receive Lamar Odom, Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, Goran Dragic and the New York Knicks’ first-round draft pick in 2012. The Rockets are getting Pau Gasol from the Lakers. There could be other pieces in
NBA labor agreement passes by 25-5 vote
NEW YORK — Five NBA owners voted against the league’s new collective bargaining agreement, commissioner David Stern said Thursday following the conclusion of the league’s Board of Governors meeting. The identities of those five teams were not disclosed, and Stern joked that the over/under on negative votes as set at 8 before the ballots were cast. But what Stern did disclose is that he expects this to be the last collective bargaining agreement he negotiates – even if one side chooses to
Deals are going down everywhere
We will not try to separate truth from fiction here. We’ll just tell you what is being reported, and we’ll see how it all shakes out tomorrow at 2 p.m. when signings can officially begin. But remember when we told you there were going to be a ton of bad contracts signed because of the stretch exception? That madness is beginning. _ The Knicks are making a big (foolish?) move to address their need for a center. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com
Bernucca column: 10 guys on the spot
Free agency starts Friday, and we can guarantee that by Sunday night, your head will be spinning. Coming out of the last lockout in January 1999, teams made a staggering 100 deals in the first two days. There were 67 transactions on the first day and another 33 on the second day. And that total doesn’t include waiving players or renouncing rights to create cap room. Unless you become a shut-in, spend the entire weekend in front of your computer and continually
Chris Paul to the Celtics?
The news of the morning comes from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, who reports that despite Celtics president Danny Ainge’s statements to the contrary earlier this week, Boston is indeed trying to move Rajon Rondo in a trade to acquire Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets. From a story filed in the pre-dawn hours of this morning by Woj: “The Celtics have relentlessly pursued Paul and have presented the Hornets with as many as eight different scenarios that would bring
NBPA urges ratification of labor deal
NEW YORK — A memo was sent out this afternoon from the players’ union urging ratification of the new collective bargaining agreement. Players have until 4 p.m. Thursday to vote “yes” or “no” on the deal. In the memo, a copy of which was obtained by SheridanHoops.com, union director Billy Hunter wrote: “Although the players made significant financial concessions, including taking a reduced share of Basketball Related Income, collective salaries will nonetheless increase over the course of the CBA, the players retained
Chris Paul and Dwight Howard: The Clipper Factor
Would anyone trade for Dwight Howard and/or Chris Paul without a guarantee that he’d remain beyond this season? Quite obviously, as documented in this morning’s post about all the trade scenarios that are out there, the Golden State Warriors are one such team, as are the Boston Celtics. But there is another team, the Los Angeles Clippers, that can trump them all with a mixture of players and draft picks — including a very special one acquired years ago in the Sam