The day after he blocked the NBA’s first blockbuster trade following the lockout, NBA commissioner explained his stance, in brief, to Bloomberg News Friday morning.
Stern said “The decision was taken that Chris Paul in New Orleans was more valuable than the trade that was being discussed. I don’t want to speak on the basketball side, but that particular one was weighed against Chris Paul’s continued presence in New Orleans.”
The Lakers, Rockets and Hornets are now appealing to the NBA to push the trade through.
The proposed deal would have sent Paul to the Lakers, forward Lamar Odom to New Orleans, and forward Pau Gasol to the Houston. New Orleans would have received Luis Scola, Kevin Martin and Goran Dragic in return for Paul.
One NBA GM told ESPN the Hornets would have “made out like bandits” had the deal been completed-citing the talent level of Scola, Martin and Dragic.
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