Chris Paul Lakers: David Stern's Statement Should Lead to Fan Revolt
After vetoing a trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers, David Stern definitely owes the NBA and its fans an explanation.
Stern attempted to do that on Friday, in a statement that comes to us from Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram.
"Since the NBA purchased the New Orleans Hornets, final responsibility for significant management decisions lies with the Commissioner's Office in consultation with team chairman Jac Sperling. All decisions are made on the basis of what is in the best interests of the Hornets.
In the case of the trade proposal that was made to the Hornets for Chris Paul, we decided, free from the influence of other NBA owners, that the team was better served with Chris in a Hornets uniform than by the outcome of the terms of that trade.
"
Sorry, David. That's just not going to cut it.
A case could be made that this trade shouldn't have ever been made to begin with. But Dell Demps is the general manager of the team. Part of the job of a general manager is to make the moves he sees fit to make the team better.
Have whatever opinion you want on the actual trade itself, but Demps made the move to improve the team.
Once the trade is done, Stern has no place vetoing it. There's way too much of a conflict of interest here.
The fact is that this trade is actually not a bad one for the Hornets. They would have lost Paul, but added tremendous depth, which is what small-market teams need to have to compete.
This is a serious problem. One man can not wield that much power in the league. The fans need to step up and show that this is not appreciated, that it's not the league's responsibility to determine what is and isn't best for a given team.
The appropriate form of protest will not be done with signs and sit-ins. No, this calls for an actual revolt. Fans need to step up and not go to the games or watch on television. That's the ultimate sign of disapproval in a sport.
Remember, this is a season that's already cancelled 16 games this season. Now, we have the NBA's commissioner overstepping his boundaries. Yes, he technically has the right to do this, but it's never happened before. Was this trade really so egregious?
No, it wasn't.
If Stern is going to do this, he might as well declare all NBA players free agents and then assign them all to various teams.
