NBA: Chris Paul-To-Lakers Trade Veto Still A Mystery

Back in 2011, Chris Paul was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers only to be immediately vetoed by then NBA commissioner David Stern, infamously citing “basketball reasons” as the only cause for his decision.

It is maddening to think that a move that altered the course of NBA history so much was explained with such a bland, unspecific response. The decision came down from the commissioner’s office December 18th, 2011, the same day that the fourth lockout in NBA history came to a close after 161 days.

The lockout was primarily due to the fact that the majority of owners had the desire to keep star players like Chris Paul in small market towns like Charlotte. They wanted to implement a hard salary cap and a much steeper luxury tax for teams who wanted or needed to go over the hard cap to improve their team. The division of revenue was also a big problem during the negotiation process.

The NBA appointed Dell Demps as the Hornets general manager after former owner George Shinn was pressured into selling the team after sexual assault and kidnapping allegations became a national headline. Demps was formerly an NBA player and was the Spurs’ vice president of basketball operations before getting the Hornets GM position.

Demps was at the head of the vetoed CP3-to-Lakers trade, as there was pressure to move Paul because of his publicly noted interest of playing in a bigger market like that of Los Angeles or New York after his contract with New Orleans came to an end. Rumors of a CP3 trade had been swirling for months leading up to the lockout, so news of a potential trade didn’t come as much of a surprise.

The trade that David Stern vetoed between the Hornets and the Lakers also involved the Houston Rockets.