Chris Paul trade to Lakers called off

By Paul Levine Dec 9, 2011, 6:01 GMT

Los Angeles - The blockbuster trade that would have sent four-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul moving from the Hive to Hollywood has been called off by NBA commissioner David Stern.

The Los Angeles Lakers were set to acquire Paul from the New Orleans Hornets while dealing fan favourite forwards Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom as part of a three-team swap that included the Houston Rockets.

'It's a done deal,' a person familiar with the trade who was not authorized to talk publicly told the LA Times on Thursday night.

The deal was called off, however, and there will be no Hollywood ending.

A group of owners on hand to ratify the new collective bargaining agreement in New York City on Thursday vehemently protested against the league-owned Hornets sending Paul to the star-studded Lakers, a protest that convinced Stern to intervene, sources told ESPN.com.

'It's not true the owners killed the deal,' league spokesman Mike Bass said. 'The deal was never discussed at the Board of Governors meeting and the league declined to make the trade for basketball reasons.'

As part of the deal, the Lakers were expected to acquire at least one other player, perhaps Hornets centre-forward Emeka Okafor.

The Hornets would have received Odom from the Lakers along with guards Kevin Martin (23.4 points per game), Goran Dragic (7.5 points per game) and Argentine forward Luis Scola (career-high 18.3 points per game and 8.3 rebounds) from the Rockets.

Houston would have acquired Gasol from the Lakers while also sending a draft pick acquired from New York to New Orleans.

Considered one of the NBA's purest playmakers, Paul was scheduled to become a free agent after the 2011-12 season. That would have allowed the 26-year-old to sign with whatever team he wanted, preferably the New York Knicks to join close friend Carmelo Anthony and the Hornets would receive no compensation.

With that in mind, the Hornets didn't want to come away empty-handed, nor did they want a season-long distraction surrounding Paul's next destination, so they traded him.

Paul would have come to the Lakers with career averages of 18.7 points, 9.9 assists and 4.6 rebounds, all with the Hornets. Last season his stats slid to 15.8 points, 9.8 assists and 4.1 boards after undergoing surgery in January 2010 to repair a torn cartilage in his left knee.

The Lakers would have waved adios to the popular Spaniard Gasol, who helped them win back-to-back NBA championships in three finals appearances after coming over in a trade from the Memphis Grizzlies in February 2008.

A four-time All-Star, the 31-year-old Gasol averaged 18.8 points and 10.2 rebounds in all 82 games last season, but his production dropped to 13.1 points per game on 42-per-cent field-goal shooting in the playoffs.

Odom, 32, was acquired by the Lakers in 2004 from the Miami Heat as part of the Shaquille O'Neal trade. He won the Sixth Man of the Year award last season after averaging 14.4 points and 8.7 rebounds a game off the bench.