Anthony Davis: David Stern's Master Plan Pays off for New Orleans Hornets

Anthony Davis is likely headed to the New Orleans Hornets in 2012 after the team won the NBA draft lottery, an end result that justifies David Stern's decision to veto the Chris Paul to Los Angeles Lakers trade proposal of last season.

Stern received a lot of criticism for vetoing the trade last year, but his master plan has given the New Orleans Hornets a fantastic opportunity to build a strong roster going forward. The deal he vetoed wasn't nearly as beneficial to the Hornets as the one he ended up approving with the Los Angeles Clippers, though you can't convince Lakers fans of this truth.

Consider the players the Hornets would have received if that deal had gone through: The Lakers would have received Paul, the Houston Rockets would have received Pau Gasol and the Hornets would have received Kevin Martin, Luis Scola and Lamar Odom.

The only player of real value for the Hornets in that deal would have been Martin. Odom had to be released by the Dallas Mavericks, and Scola, while a good player in his own right, has an inflated contract that pays him just under $30 million in the next four years, according to Rotoworld.com.

Instead, Stern opted for a deal that is far better in the long run for the success of the franchise. In hindsight, it was a brilliant decision considering that the team just won the lottery.

Eric Gordon and Al-Farouq Aminu will be important players for the Hornets for years to come. Gordon is a 23-year-old shooting guard who has the ability to light it up on any given night, and his salary of $5.1 million next year is low for the kind of production he has been putting up. 

Chris Kaman was the third wheel of the trade for Paul. His salary in 2011-2012 was $14 million, which was the main reason the trade worked in the first place. He won't be returning to the Hornets next year unless he comes back at a significantly discounted rate as a free agent.

Now that Davis' arrival is all but certain, the Hornets have a strong, young nucleus of talented players to build around for the next handful of years. He brings a strong inside presence on both ends of the floor, along with a winning attitude from his year at Kentucky.

Hopefully, Emeka Okafor will recover from what team officials are calling a "sore left knee," but if he's not healthy, they have the option of using their one-time amnesty clause to waive him and his upcoming $13.64 million salary, according to Nola.com.

Davis is walking into the perfect situation. He will be the face of an up-and-coming franchise that has plenty of cap room to make additional moves, and Stern's master plan is suddenly coming into focus.

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