In a deal that would have sent Paul to the Lakers, Pau Gasol to the Rockets and furnished New Orleans with three top-flight NBA players in Kevin Martin, Luis Scola and Lamar Odom as well as playoff-tested guard Goran Dragic and a 2012 first-round pick that Houston had acquired from the Knicks.
But then the league turned around and stopped the deal because the NBA owners didn't like that a team owned by the NBA is trading Paul to a big market team.
Many people thought that after this happened the Lakers were going to turn around an get Dwight Howard. So I'm kind of torn with all of this. On one hand I'm stoked the Lakers don't have Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, on the other I really like the fact the Hornets got 3 almost all stars in Odom, Scola and Martin (along with Dragic and a 1st pick). The owners and David Stern may have stepped over the line a little much.
With Dwight Howard most likely getting traded to the Nets today, I kind of hope the league puts it through. If they did after Howard left then the Lakers would be stuck with Bynum's gimpy knees and only one power forward in Derrick Caracter. Also, I I hate Chris Paul so him is Yellow and Purple would be fitting. They would be a worst team than they had before they got Paul. That would make me giggle. Also, if it doesn't go through, there is no way Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom are going to be happy to go back. So it looks like the Celtics aren't going to be the only team with an awkward 1st day of training camp.
Another factor could be that they didn't want to give the poor people in New Orleans another Kardashian. They have already gone through enough.