David Stern's Control of Eric Gordon Contract Shows Flaws of NBA Owning Hornets

David Stern's role in determining whether or not Eric Gordon will receive a long-term extension from the New Orleans Hornets is another reminder why it's a mistake to have the NBA own and operate the franchise.

The commissioner has stayed relatively quiet since orchestrating the trade that sent Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers.

It was a very hotly contested deal considering Stern's decision to veto an agreed-upon trade which would have sent Paul to the other team in L.A., the Lakers, but Stern cited "basketball reasons" as his decision to nix the idea of Paul in a Lakers uniform.

The vetoed trade was a three-team deal between the Houston Rockets, New Orleans Hornets and Lakers.

The Lakers, a team that desperately needs an improvement at the point guard position, would have acquired Paul.

Houston, a team that was desperate to land a premier big man for Kevin McHale's first season at the helm, would have netted Pau Gasol.

And then there is New Orleans. The Hornets would have received three very talented veteran players in Luis Scola, Lamar Odom and Kevin Martin, but Stern didn't want to "handcuff" a potential buyer by having multi-year pacts on the books, instead providing the new owner with more of a blank slate.

This is one major reason as to why "basketball reasons" was never valid reasoning. If anything, Stern made the decision for financial reasons as it pertained to the business and future of the New Orleans organization.

Alas, the Clippers wound up netting Chris Paul through at least the 2012-13 season.

In return for Paul, the Clippers sent Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu, Chris Kaman (who has $12.2 million expiring contract) and Minnesota's 2012 first-round draft pick.

That looks like quite the haul on paper, doesn't it?

But in reality? Well, the yield has been less than promising through the first 17 games of the season.

Aminu continues to disappoint on expectations held for him when he was drafted eighth overall in 2010.

Kaman's most valuable contribution to the team thus far has been the fact that he came with a massive expiring salary, and the first-round draft pick may not be as high as some had hoped with the surprising play of the Timberwolves this year.

The Hornets sit at just 3-14 and Gordon has participated in just two games to date, due to ongoing issues with his knee.

Gordon passed his team physical examination about one week before the start of the regular season.

After hitting the game-winning shot on December 26 against the Phoenix Suns in his first game, the Hornets announced Gordon had bumped knees with Grant Hill and would miss the next contest due to a bruised right knee.

Gordon would miss another game with what the team called a preexisting condition, and then returned to the starting lineup after the new year for just a single contest against the Philadelphia 76ers.

The team then announced in the beginning of January that Gordon would miss two to three weeks with a knee injury, and he hasn't played a single second of action since that time.

After a few weeks of little to no updates on Gordon's condition, the shooting guard underwent extensive testing on his knee, but he was assured that it was "structurally sound" and could resume basketball activities after three more weeks of rest.

The seventh overall draft pick of the 2008 draft, Gordon is eligible for a contract extension prior to the January 25 deadline.

Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports that while Gordon and the Hornets have held discussions about an extension, general manager Dell Demps is powerless and has to await direction from David Stern.

If that reads awkwardly, you're not alone.

The GM of the team isn't allowed to make decisions, and the commissioner is once again acting as a puppet-master behind the scenes.

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Gordon told Yahoo! Sports on Monday night he was informed by Hornets general manager Dell Demps that Stern must decide whether to extend an offer.

The NBA owns the Hornets. Gordon wants to re-sign with New Orleans, but is uncertain if or when Stern will reach out to him or Pelinka.

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The Hornets are interested in doing a deal, Gordon, the centerpiece of the Paul trade, wants to sign a long-term extension, but the ultimate fate of it all is in Stern's hands.

The situation stinks. It looks and smells rotten.

"I just hope a deal gets done before the deadline, the ball is in [the NBA's] court," said Gordon.

If Stern drops the ball and doesn't allow the Hornets to sign Gordon to an extension, he'll have effectively invalidated his own reasoning behind why he did not allow Chris Paul to join the Lakers.

Gordon's most recent knee diagnosis came from a "team-appointed doctor," and with Stern and the league clearly running the organization, there is no reason to point to his recent diagnosis as a source of why no extension was put forth.

Luis Scola, Kevin Martin and Lamar Odom are all under contract through (at least) the 2012-13 season.

If the league lets Eric Gordon leave the team after the season, here is what will remain from the infamous Paul trade: Al-Farouq Aminu, a first-round draft pick and about $12 million in additional cap space.

This time around, "basketball reasons" won't fly for Stern's reasoning.

No matter what winds up happening between Gordon and the Hornets, one thing has been crystal clear throughout: The decision for the league to run and operate the franchise remains a terrible one.

There are just too many conflicts of interest when Stern is acting as both owner and general manager of the team.

That's exactly where we stand right now.