Chris Paul Still Not Going to L.A.
Written by Bob Whalon, Monday December 12 2011
For the second time in five days, a proposed trade involving New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul going to Los Angeles was rejected.
Last week, it was NBA Commissioner David Stern nixing a potential three-way deal involving the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets that would have sent Paul to the Lakers. Today it was Los Angeles Clippers general manager Neil Olshey rejecting a deal that would have netted his team Paul.
The NBA owns the Hornets, in what is generally considered to be a bad situation. New Orleans general manager Dell Demps is in a tough spot with Paul, who can become an unrestricted free agent after this season. Obviously the Hornets don't want to lose Paul for nothing at the end of the year, but they are running out of trade partners. Well, at least in L.A.
Stern didn't think the Lakers trade made sense for basketball reasons. Olshey thought "the cost was just too high", to acquire Paul. That leaves Paul and his teammates stuck in limbo while the Hornets try to accommodate the star guard's request for a trade.
Paul hasn't said anything to reporters during the four days of training camp so far, but others have had plenty to say.
"There has been a bit of a distraction," Hornets coach Monty Williams said. "Would I love to have some things in order? Absolutely, but that's not the case. When you're a coach, you have to deal in reality and I have to devote myself to the people that are right here right now."
The Hornets begin their regular season schedule in two weeks and yet they only have five returning veterans on the roster, including Paul. They haven't made any significant free-agent acquisitions, and guard Jarrett Jack suggested that the Hornets may have trouble signing any free agents until the Paul situation is resolved.
"We can't go sign a big-time free agent at the moment because we may be getting four, five players [in a trade for Paul] and who knows what their salaries may command," Jack said.
The Hornets also lost their own free agent, forward David West, who on Sunday agreed to a deal with Indiana. West said the league's ownership involvement was a key reason he decided to sign elsewhere.
"There just really is no direction, no legitimate owner, so that just makes it tough," West said. "It really made it tough for me to see myself going back there." He also said it would make it tough for other free agents to want to sign in New Orleans.
West likes and respects Demps and Williams, but said that he and Paul didn't like the direction of the team under the former ownership and former general manager Jeff Bower. West said he and Paul didn't like the team trading Tyson Chandler in 2009 and the fact that they were not consulted on any major moves that the team made.
"Ultimately, I think [Demps and Williams] got the bad luck of the draw because things were already sort of soured," West said of his and Paul's feelings before last season.
Now Paul is left dangling in the trade-market wind. Two trades to L.A. have been rejected and he remains in a place where he does not want to play. Sooner or later New Orleans will complete a trade to grant Paul his wish to play elsewhere. Unfortunately he and the rest of the Hornets are going to have to wait a little while longer.
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