NBA Says Deal was Blocked by New Orleans

The Los Angeles Lakers are pushing for an appeal of David Stern’s veto of the Chris Paul trade, but that process has hit a major wall, reports L.A. Times’ Mike Bresnahan.  The league claims that it did not reject the trade and that it was the Hornets’ choice to cancel the deal.

One NBA official said the league had no say on whether or not the Hornets would ship Paul to Los Angeles. “This is technically a New Orleans decision.”

According to a league official, another factor that played a role in the rejection of the deal was the fact that the Hornets were not receiving young players. Two of the players that would have been shipped to the Hornets were Lamar Odom, 32, and Luis Scola, 31. However, New Orleans still would have gotten a scorer in Kevin Martin, 28, and a solid point guard in Goran Dragic, 25.

However, if the league owns the Hornets, who else could have made the decision? If Stern and his staff are in control of the Hornets, doesn’t that mean it was their choice to stop the deal?