NBA Rumors: Chris Paul Taking Legal Action Against League Is a Disaster for All

After the trade of Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers was nixed by the NBA late Thursday night, reports have come out that Paul met with union chief Billy Hunter and was considering legal action against the league.

If that's the route Paul elects to take, it's bad news for all parties involved.

For Paul, his image takes a big hit. It's unclear at the moment what any legal action may entail, but if it's about potentially lost wages, he looks like it's all about the money.

I couldn't imagine having to leave potentially $30-40 million on the table, and Paul has the right to be angry, but by pursuing legal action he will look like a crybaby that's all about the money.

He was already holding the Hornets hostage by only accepting to sign extensions with certain teams he was traded to, but by pursuing this course of action he will look like the bad guy.

As for the NBA, David Stern already looks bad in all of this, but he allowed a precedent to be set by allowing superstars to force their current teams' hand and, despite a five-month lockout, apparently did nothing to fix the situation.

By Paul pursuing legal action against the league, it will also set another precedent that every time a superstar doesn't get his way, there is always the option of pursuing legal action.

Nobody wants that.

The NBA as a whole has had very little positive PR since the clock hit triple-zeroes in the final game of last season's NBA Finals. It isn't doing much in the last couple days to change that, either.

If Paul ends up deciding to pursue legal action against the NBA, things could get ugly, and at the end of the day neither side can afford that.