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David Stern, the NBA commissioner, has personally vetoed a blockbuster trade between three teams that would see premier point guard, Chris Paul, move from the New Orleans Hornets to the Los Angeles Lakers.
This move by the commissioner was possible because of the complicated situation of the Hornets being currently managed by the NBA offices while they wait to find a suitable owner for the franchise.
However, the move complicates the amount of power the office has over player movement and their sincerity in making a new agreement and sticking to it after this lockout.
The trade was called off only after numerous outlets had announced that the Lakers and Hornets, in conjunction with a third team, the Houston Rockets, had come to agreement in principle for a complex trade that would team Paul with Lakers great Kobe Bryant at least for this season.
The Hornets staff had agreed to trade Paul to the Lakers in return for big men, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, the second and third highest scorers on the Lakers roster last year. The Hornets would then trade Gasol to the Rockets in return for Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Goran Dragic and possible a first-round draft pick.
This deal was sufficient for all sides as the Lakers got one of the biggest fish in the league, Houston had their big man position filled (a very important position in their playing style) and the Hornets were going to clear salary cap space, shorten contracts and get into a stronger position for life after Paul.
Chris Paul is an all-star calibre veteran and has been the best player on the Hornets roster since he was drafted 6 seasons ago. He has taken the team to the play-offs 3 times. He was due to opt out of the last year of his contract with the NBA owned New Orleans team at the end of this next season and enter free-agency, effectively making it known he would like to be traded to a big city or a contender.
Trading Paul now was considered the best way for New Orleans to earn something in return for the services of one of the best point guards in the league for this upcoming 66 game season.
ESPN and Yahoo! Sports have reported that sources are saying that some of the owners pressured Stern to make this decision because they believed that star players regularly leaving smaller markets for the bright lights of big cities was part of why they locked out the players and had a protracted negotiation before agreeing this week on details for a 10 year collective bargaining agreement.
Other NBA executives were reported to have said they believed that all along, Dell Demps was in a position of authority to make this trade and that Stern had only stepped in at the 11th hour.
Stern has effectively forced the Hornets to hold on to Chris Paul until he opts out of the final year of his contract and walks into free-agency without any compensation to the club. This is obviously not the ideal situation for a small market team; they are accustomed to building through these trade scenarios.
One major consideration when thinking about this dud deal now is the situation the players find themselves in. There are players that were being used as trade bait and cap space clearing instruments that will now have to return to the teams that just agreed were worth moving. Not a good way to build work-place morale.
The position and authority of Stern has been called into question with executives wondering if his recent tough posture throughout CBA negotiations and leading into this decision is a sign that the power of his position is getting to him.
Another hot issue being discussed is that the players voted to agree to the new CBA just over 24 hours ago and that they would not have been inclined to vote in favour of this agreement if Stern had flaunted his power over player movement in this way before that vote.
Either way this situation is embarrassing for the league and puts the players into a position they do not want to be in.
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