There is "renewed momentum to push through a trade" sending Hornets G Chris Paul to the Clippers, according to sources cited by Stein & Broussard of ESPN.com. After a "seemingly imminent trade routing Paul to the Clippers collapsed" yesterday, sources said that the NBA officials "negotiating on the Hornets' behalf had aggressively re-engaged the Clippers in talks in hopes of completing a deal" as soon as today. The league officials are "eager to finally bring an end to this saga after NBA commissioner David Stern vetoed a three-team trade Thursday that would have landed Paul with the Lakers." In "unprecedented circumstances, since New Orleans is the first league-owned team" in NBA history, Clippers VP/Basketball Operations Neil Olshey "has largely been conducting negotiations" with NBA Exec VP/Basketball Operations Stu Jackson and NBA President of League Operations Joel Litvin as opposed to Hornets GM Dell Demps (ESPN.com, 12/12). In New Orleans, John Reid notes the Paul "sweepstakes appear to be turning into a fiasco, heightened by NBA Commissioner David Stern’s insistence to meddle in the team’s basketball operation decisions." Demps last season "had autonomy to make deals without interference from the league" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 12/13). YAHOO SPORTS' Adrian Wojnarowski noted many people "in the league -- including some in Paul’s camp -- are skeptical of the NBA’s intentions to trade him, questioning whether league officials are merely going through an exercise to protect themselves against legal liability, preferring instead to have Paul on the Hornets’ roster when the team is finally sold to a new owner." Sources said that while there has been "no official transition of power, Hornets general manager Dell Demps has been completely pushed to the side in deal-making decisions for the team." One source said Demps is "basically a spectator now." Demps is "still making calls, but rival front offices and agents involved in possible deals with New Orleans say he’s no longer authorized to decide on any transaction" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 12/12).
TOO MUCH TOO SOON? Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said the NBA's veto of the Paul trade was "completely unexpected." He added, "I'm not sure it's ever happened before. We did the best we can to express our displeasure and to date there's been no change" (L.A. TIMES, 12/13). ESPN's Jeff Van Gundy said, "I wonder who these basketball people are to come up with these basketball reasons (to kill the deal). I thought they hit a home run with that trade. I don’t think they could have done any better. ... It's really a slap in the face to that team, that city that fan base and really all the teams involved and all the players involved." He added, "This rush to play on Christmas was a huge mistake. I think when you skip steps, which this season is going to be all about skipping steps, and go for the money grab, I think when you do that you make mistakes and I think that’s what’s happened" (NEWSDAY.com, 12/12).
STERN WORDS FOR COMMISH: In L.A., Bill Plaschke writes Stern "has the right to run the Hornets, but the duty to stay out of their business, a duty he has recently ignored, such that the integrity of the league has suffered more in five days than during the lockout's 149 days." Stern's involvement with the Clippers deal "was less direct," but in both cases, the "damage caused by a commissioner's office with a huge conflict of interest could be considerable" (L.A. TIMES, 12/13). FOXSPORTS.com's Mark Kriegel writes under the header, "In His Twilight, Stern Coming Up Small." Stern "comes off as petty, vitriolic, dictatorial, unable to discern his short-term reputation from his long-term legacy, his job from his purpose. Fresh from this disgrace of a lockout, he’s added to his titles" (FOXSPORTS.com, 12/13). In L.A., Vincent Bonsignore writes, "Like an aging leader too proud and stubborn to realize he may have overstayed his effectiveness, Stern has either become a paranoid control freak or a puppet for a group of owners who mistakenly think they can control parity by hindering star players' abilities to move freely about the league" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 12/13). CBSSPORTS.com's Ken Berger wrote the NBA "has become a parade of fools and shallow storylines." It is like "NASCAR, or pro wrestling, or bubble gum." It is "becoming painfully apparent that the short-term gain of having a season without solving the power struggle between stars and teams has too many unsightly side-effects." The sport itself is "in a fight for its life against short-sighted soap operas." The sport, the "product, and everything it should be about, is losing in a landslide" (CBSSPORTS.com, 12/12).
ALREADY HEARING COMPLAINTS ABOUT CBA: In a special to GRANTLAND.com, Tulane Dir of Sports Law Gabe Feldman wrote Stern "will have been able to use the cloak of team ownership to accomplish something he could not do as commissioner and could not get through collective bargaining." In one "overreaching swoop, he changed the course of the league and the face of perhaps five different franchises." But the "bigger issue is that it's clear that we are headed for another labor dispute when this new CBA expires. We're less than a month past the lockout, the ink on the new deal hasn't even dried yet and we already have owners complaining about the deal" (GRANTLAND.com, 12/12).
USING THEIR HEADS: The AP's Rachel Cohen reported the NBA "put in place a concussion policy that will determine when players return from head injuries." If a player "is diagnosed with a concussion, he will have to complete a series of steps to confirm that he's healthy enough for competition." The NBA joins the NFL, NHL and MLB "in instituting concussion protocol" (AP, 12/12).
