[h2]Lakers pull out of Paul talks[/h2]
Posted on: December 11, 2011 12:27 am
Edited on: December 11, 2011 1:14 am
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A tortured three-team trade that would've sent
Chris Paul to the
Lakers fell apart Saturday night when the Lakers and
Rockets were unable to satisfy criteria set forth by the NBA, which owns the
Hornets, three people with knowledge of the situation told CBSSports.com.
The Lakers immediately shifted gears and agreed to trade
Lamar Odom to Dallas for undisclosed draft picks, a move that rival executives and a person briefed on the team's basketball strategies viewed as a precursor for a push to acquire
Dwight Howard from Orlando.
Odom goes into a trade exception created when the
Mavericks signed and traded center
Tyson Chandler to the
Knicks in a complicated, three-team deal, setting the stage for the Lakers to seriously engage the
Magic in talks to acquire Howard, who on Saturday admitted that he'd requested to be traded.
CBSSports.com confirmed reports that Howard requested to be traded to the New Jersey
Nets, but two people with direct knowledge of Howard's plans said Saturday that the All-Star center has long wanted to play in Los Angeles. Howard's affinity for the city is so strong that sources said the Lakers' co-tenants in Staples Center, the
Clippers, should not be ruled out as a trade partner for Orlando.
The entire league will be trying to acquire Howard in the coming days now that his trade request is public and the Magic have acknowledged giving his agent, Dan Fegan, permission to discuss trade possibilities with the Lakers, Nets and Mavericks. But the Lakers are the only team capable of offering an All-Star 7-footer,
Pau Gasol, and a potential All-Star 7-footer,
Andrew Bynum -- while also being willing and able to take
Hedo Turkoglu and his poisonous contract.
The Rockets, who were supposed to get Gasol in the various versions of the ill-fated, three-team Paul trade, were said to be disconsolate at the breakdown in the talks. League sources said Houston's plan had been to acquire Gasol and follow it up by acquiring free-agent big man Nene with a four-year, $60-$64 million offer.
The breakdown in the Paul trade also sends the Hornets scrambling for another suitor for the All-Star point guard, who has made it clear he wants to be traded or will leave New Orleans as an unrestricted free agent after the season. Other teams, including the Clippers,
Warriors and
Celtics, were putting other moves on hold until the Lakers' pursuit of Paul reached a fork in the road. But given that the NBA blocked the initial trade sending Paul to the Lakers Thursday, and set forth conditions as the Hornets' functioning ownership that the three teams couldn't meet, it's difficult to imagine executives jumping into another Paul soap opera not knowing what the parameters for a deal would be.
Still, one front office executive said early Sunday that talks with the Clippers about a Paul trade would now be reignited. Previous discussions stalled when the Clippers refused to include sharpshooter
Eric Gordon in the deal, and the leverage New Orleans had to hold out for a better offer is now gone -- ironically, killed by the league's refusal to approve the original deal that would've sent Paul to the Lakers and the subsequent collapse of the talks to revise the deal. But when a team trying to trade its franchise player is owned by the league, leverage is in the eyes of the beholder. What if commissioner David Stern insists on Gordon, other young pieces or even Minnesota's unprotected No. 1 pick held by the Clippers be included in the deal?
Really, only one thing was certain early Sunday as the aftermath of the Paul saga circulated through front offices across the league. Once Paul's ultimate destination is determined -- whether it's the Clippers, Celtics, Warriors, Hornets or somewhere else -- the logical next step could be a courtroom when, as one team executive said, "The lawsuits start flying."
While some executives and agents were confused as to why the Lakers didnât seriously engage the Magic in trade discussions that wouldâve sent Bynum and Gasol to Orlando for Howard and Turkoglu in the first place, sources said the answer was simple: the Lakers want to try to position themselves to land both Paul and Howard.
âThey got greedy,â
