NBA Trade Rumors: League Must Stay Consistent and Keep Dwight Howard from Nets
Things are just getting weird in the NBA. On the day where it became good to officially make roster moves, we're not talking about those. Well, we are, but not for the right reasons.
The trade that Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported on Thursday that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers has been vetoed by the league. If you haven't read Commissioner David Stern's explanation for the veto, here it is:
"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..
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But now, let's focus on another big name and do a little comparison. According to Chris Broussard of ESPN, Dwight Howard has requested that the Orlando Magic move him to the New Jersey Nets. But that's not where the drama begins.
David Aldridge reported on NBA.com that Orlando is considering filing tampering charges against the Nets.
After looking at those two situations, the NBA would have no choice but to veto a trade that would send Howard to Orlando, if it happens.
Read Stern's statement carefully. There's no alleged breaking of the rules going on there. By his own admission, he's just making a saying that the league-owned Hornets are better off with Paul.
It's ridiculous that he made such a move. But with Howard, we have alleged charges of tampering. That actually is against the rules.
This is more about the NBA setting a terrible precedent by vetoing Paul's trade than anything else. Of course, a Howard trade to the Nets would involve the Magic agreeing to it, but it would come after at least rumblings of illegal action.
If you are going to veto a trade that was done well within the league's rules, you have to veto one that walks that fine line, don't you? Absolutely.
The Hornets are owned by the NBA and stepped in and vetoed a trade that was undeniably legal. That's a clear conflict of interest.
If they allow the Howard trade to go through, the conflict of interest becomes more apparent. This is what the NBA gets for setting the precedent that they did with Paul. Every other trade will be under a microscope.
Anything that even hints at wrongdoing means that the trade can't go through.
