I will never get Houston though. I thought they were planning a max contract for Marc Gasol, but I guess not

This trade would have got them closer to be able to make an offer. They were shipping out more dollars then they were bringing back.

Raptors Acquire Mickael Pietrus From Suns
Dec 09, 2011 10:15 AM EST


The Raptors and Suns have reportedly agreed to a deal that would send Mickael Pietrus to Toronto in exchange for a second round pick.

Pietrus averaged 7.4 points and 2.0 rebounds per game last season.



Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/21 ... z1g3Zf3QK1

[quote="rusty2"]Raptors Acquire Mickael Pietrus From Suns
Dec 09, 2011 10:15 AM EST


The Raptors and Suns have reportedly agreed to a deal that would send Mickael Pietrus to Toronto in exchange for a second round pick.

Pietrus averaged 7.4 points and 2.0 rebounds per game last season.



Good Toronto needs some more Euros. Peitrus is a guy who looks like a stiff except when he plays us when he looks like an all star.

Updated: December 9, 2011, 12:51 PM ET
Sources: Nets, Howard met in Miami
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By Chris Broussard
ESPN The Magazine
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The New Jersey Nets met with Dwight Howard Thursday night in a move that would be a violation of the league's tampering rules, according to multiple sources.


Howard
Howard met with Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov and the Nets general manager Billy King in Miami, sources said. Howard was joined by a few business associates.

The meeting violates the NBA's tampering rules because Howard's current team, the Orlando Magic, did not know about the meeting or give the Nets permission to meet with Howard, according to the sources.

NBA.com reported that the Magic are considering filing tampering charges against two teams, one being the Nets. SI.com reported that the other team is the Houston Rockets.

The meeting was the first between Howard and the Nets but the second between Howard's representatives and the Nets.

At the meeting, the group discussed a deal in which Howard would be traded to New Jersey. The plan was for Howard to ask Orlando to trade him Friday morning.

Sources said the Magic had been discussing a possible trade with New Jersey the past few days but that nothing had been agreed to.

Chris Broussard is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine.

The Sports Guy

The Sixth Day of NBA Christmas
Day 6: When Chris Paul let us know David Stern had stayed too long

By Bill SimmonsPOSTED DECEMBER 9, 2011

Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images
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Note: This could end up being one of the craziest months in NBA history. To celebrate the signings, trades, rumors, roster shuffling, insanity and (almost definitely) ensuing hilarity/incompetence, I have unleashed a special series called "The 12 Days of NBA Christmas." Every weekday through December 19 (give or take a day), I will be writing about this unexpected NBA Christmas.

Day 1: The Road to Groundhog Day (and more dumb contracts than ever)
Day 2: The Donut Dilemma (the bubble in the center market)
Day 3: Is Arron Afflalo really worth $50 million?
Day 4: Where the hell is Chris Paul going?
Day 5: Inside Grantland Featuring Blake Griffin, Part II
Day 6: (12/9) The Day the NBA Lost Its Way

Norm MacDonald's Comedy Central show may not have lasted long, but it left behind my favorite two-word phrase of 2011: "Wait, what?" The bit went like this: Norm would read a completely insane story with a totally straight face, milk it for a beat, then do a double-take and scream, "Wait, what???" It always slayed me.

See, life is full of those "Wait, what???" moments … you know, like yesterday, right after the Lakers pulled off a three-team trade for Chris Paul, when everyone was still digesting that stunning news through phone calls, e-mails and tweets. I had just tweeted a joke about coming to grips with my favorite point guard — Paul, a true artist, maybe the best pure point guard who ever lived — playing across the street from my office, for the team I hate the most, ultimately deciding that I just needed to get drunk. Not even a minute later, my cell phone rang. A friend of mine was on the line. He's never steered me wrong. And now, he was about to put me into a freaking stupor.

"The trade's off! The NBA vetoed the trade!!!"

Wait, what?

"The NBA vetoed the trade! They said it wasn't in the best interests of the league."

WAIT, WHAT?

"You heard me. They said it wasn't in the best interests in the league. Chris has to play out the year in New Orleans."

You know the rest. One of the strangest things about loving sports: Those random moments when you're sitting in your house, your office, your classroom, wherever … and suddenly you get blown away by a legitimate bombshell. This was crazy. This was insane. This made no sense. By blocking the trade, David Stern was willingly creating his own Watergate and validating every critic who ever claimed, "That guy stayed too long." Tim Donaghy was just one guy acting alone — we think — and tampering with dozens of games before they caught him. Blocking the Paul trade? This was different. This was Big Brother stuff. This was one of the biggest conflicts of interest in sports history. This was a league intentionally jeopardizing its own credibility. This was a scandal popping out of thin air, self-created, almost like a man-made lake or something.

These are the facts: Twelve months ago, the NBA bought the New Orleans Hornets for a little more than $300 million. Every other owner (29 in all) split the price for the franchise, the same way you'd split a meal 12 ways for your buddy's birthday or something. Stern and his cronies claimed this wouldn't be a problem, that Hornets GM Dell Demps would be able to swing moves just like any other general manager. When Mark Cuban flipped out in February after a Carl Landry/Marcus Thornton swap caused New Orleans' payroll to rise, nobody really cared. When the lockout dragged on for five months and nobody ever seriously considered contracting the Hornets — a franchise that lost money AND couldn't find an owner — nobody really cared. When the Hornets stole the spotlight after the labor agreement by immediately being involved in 50,000 different trade rumors, nobody really cared. We all assumed things were "on the level."

And why not? We had no reason to think differently … right? The league made a point of saying that Demps had been empowered to make any trade (without interference). Every team dealing with New Orleans believed that Demps was in charge — without any question — and that they weren't wasting their time spending their days batting around ideas with him. On Wednesday morning, when I was working on my column about Paul trades, I sniffed around on Stern's role in the trade talks and got the same answer from different people: It's Dell Demps' call. I ended up joking in that column that Stern might block a Clippers/Paul trade to avoid having Donald Sterling own one of the league's signature franchises. Everyone read that and got the joke.

I mean, Stern wouldn't actually BLOCK a trade. That's preposterous. Right?

Fast-forward to Thursday night: Those first few minutes after word spread (not only that the trade was canceled, but that Paul would probably remain in New Orleans for the entire season), as everyone came to the same sobering conclusion. The old man finally lost his mind. Sure, he was pushed there by a cluster of bitter owners, but the old Stern never would have rolled over like that. Twenty years ago, 10 years ago, maybe even five years ago, Stern would have brushed them off in his endearingly condescending way, quelled the fire, called in a favor or two, acted like the politician he always secretly was. Not this time. The old man doesn't have the same sway. We just witnessed it during that lockout. Few people understood how much time and effort he spent pushing his holdout owners toward that final compromise. He barely got there.

If you want to know the truth, Stern started losing control of the league during the middle of last decade, when a new generation of wealthy billionaires started paying full boat for franchises. The days of Abe Pollin and Bill Davidson were long gone — family guys who bought in early, stuck with their investments and watched their league flourish into something much bigger than they ever expected. Stern's favorite owner was Larry Miller, a dynamic Salt Lake City businessman and philanthropist who bought the Jazz in 1985, then ran the franchise with his family for the next 24 years. A year after diabetes claimed Miller in May of 2009, Stern met the press before a playoff game and spoke earnestly about his affection for Miller. Someone asked the commissioner about Jerry Sloan's longevity. At the time, Sloan was still coaching the Jazz at 67 years old, six months older than Stern.

"We're a dying breed," Stern admitted. "It's not happening anymore. But it sure is reassuring to look there and expect to see him, and darn, he's there. It's kind of neat."

That's probably how Stern thought people saw him. Or, how he hoped people saw him. And in some cases (like with me), it was true. Little did he know that Sloan was losing control of his players — in 2011, an ongoing clash with star Deron Williams caused Sloan to resign — just like Stern was slowly losing control of his owners. The newer generation of guys wasn't indebted to him. They found him to be increasingly obstinate, stuck in his ways, more of a condescending bully than anything. After paying full sticker price for their teams, they weren't interested in answering to some aging know-it-all. Stern's control slowly started to erode, whether he realized it or not.

Leaders thrive when they feel creatively empowered, when they trust the people around them, when their confidence is swelling. Leaders make mistakes when they lose that same confidence, when they're fretting about their power base, when they're reacting instead of acting. The worst kind of leaders hang on too long, get seduced by their own voice, start doing things from memory — because that's the way we've always done it! — stop thinking outside the box, start playing checkers instead of chess. Stern reached that point last night. I think he caved because of the whining owners, but also out of exasperation: because yet another superstar was trying to push his way to another big city, because he's in charge, because THIS IS DAVID STERN'S LEAGUE. It's like the old Will Ferrell/Dodge Stratus SNL sketch:

You don't talk to me like that! I'm David Stern! I make the rules here! You don't get to pick your team, I do! I'm the commissioner of the NBA! I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS!!!!!

Fact: That trade was totally, undeniably, 100 percent defensible.

Fact: Of the three teams involved, New Orleans made out the best. Repeat: the best. By my calculations, it landed one of the better offensive big men in basketball (Luis Scola), one of the better scoring 2-guards in basketball (Kevin Martin), a playoff-proven forward who can play either spot (Lamar Odom), a scoring point guard with upside (Goran Dragic), and a 2012 no. 1 pick (via the New York Knicks). Can you do better for someone who was leaving in seven months anyway? I hate trading superstars, but if you HAVE to trade a superstar? That's pretty good.

Meanwhile, the Rockets spent the past three years stashing enough pieces to make that trade: Acquiring the second-best center in basketball (Gasol) while leaving enough cap room to sign a marquee free agent (and yes, they were closing in on Nene). And the Lakers paid the steepest price: giving up their best low-post guy and all of their frontcourt depth, giving Andrew Bynum an immense amount of responsibility (you know, the same guy who stormed off the court half-naked during the playoff sweep last spring) and reinventing their team around Paul's aching knee and Kobe's aching knees. It would have been a brilliant move had it worked and a legendary disaster had it failed — especially if Kobe rebelled against sharing the ball with Paul — only now we'll never know.

Once word leaked of the deal, rival owners started rebelling almost immediately. What was the point of that lockout, and all the talk of competitive balance, if the Lakers were allowed to immediately acquire Chris Paul? Dan Gilbert sent a scathing e-mail to a few of the other owners that, of course, was leaked on the Internet last night.

The best part of the letter: "This trade should go to a vote of the 29 owners of the Hornets."

(Translation: "Let's cut Demps' balls off, throw the last few weeks of negotiating out the window and go back on our word. Also, I'm thinking of starting a support group for small-market owners who overpaid for their teams, don't have the balls to sell and would rather whine, bitch and bully about their lot in NBA life. I'm going to call it O.A.: Overpayers Anonymous.")

The second-best part of the letter: "I just don't see how we can allow this trade to happen. I know the vast majority of owners feel the same way that I do. When will we just change the name of 25 of the 30 teams to the Washington Generals?"

(Translation: Boooooooo hooooooo.)

There it was, in all its Comic Sans MS glory, that whopping conflict of interest that had been staring at everyone for 12 solid months. How can a league own one of its own franchises? What happens if it has to, you know, make important trades and stuff? The league always knew that, at some point, the Hornets might have to trade Chris Paul. They claimed they had a plan in place. And they did. Until O.A. started bitching with even more fervor than usual. That's when Stern's eroding power finally sank him. Instead of backing a decision he had already made, Stern choked like Nick Anderson. The unthinkable happened.

He blocked the trade.

Wait, what?

Was it the worst moment of David Stern's entire tenure? I never thought anything would top an official fixing games, but man … how can anything be worse than this? Imagine this happened in your fantasy league. Imagine spending weeks shaping a deal, executing it, then having your commissioner waltz in and say, "Nah, I'm vetoing that one." Would that ever happen? And now this is happening in a PROFESSIONAL SPORTS LEAGUE?

Just know that I'm a die-hard Celtics fan and die-hard Lakers hater … and even I am appalled. I hope Chris Paul sues. I hope the Rockets sue. I hope the Lakers sue. I hope Dell Demps resigns and makes a sex tape with a stripper wearing a David Stern Halloween mask. Whatever happens, the season has been irrevocably tainted — we just watched FIVE teams have their seasons screwed up by this debacle. Houston's three-year plan just went up in smoke; now the Rockets have to make up with their two best players. (Good luck with that.) The Lakers need to determine if their relationship with the notoriously sensitive Gasol and the even more notoriously sensitive Odom is salvageable; and if it's not, what then? The Hornets are just plain screwed. It's a basketball catastrophe for them. As for the Celtics, Pinocchio Ainge's ill-fated pursuit of Paul ruined the team's relationship with Rajon Rondo, only its best young player. Even the Knicks got screwed — supposedly they closed the deal with Tyson Chandler yesterday, never expecting Paul to become available this summer (and now they can't chase him).

The total tally: Five teams were screwed by one cowardly decision.

Here's what saddens me: We should have remembered December 8, 2011, as one of the best random basketball days in years. It was like climbing on a Twitter/e-mail/phone call/texting roller coaster from the moment I woke up. First, Boston was in the lead for Paul as Golden State and the Clippers were falling out. Then, Boston fading as the Knicks were gaining steam. Around lunchtime, I called a Knicks buddy who was gleefully planning a future with Chandler, Carmelo and Paul, with poor Amar'e headed to New Orleans, Orlando, Houston … who the hell knew? And then, boom! That went up in smoke. The Lakers came roaring back, word of a three-teamer spread … and my Knicks buddy went from euphoric to despondent in less than three hours. My Laker fan buddies were crowing, my Boston peeps were freaking out, my dad was practically having a heart attack about the Kobe/Howard/Paul possibilities, Twitter was blowing up … I mean, could that have been a more fun day to be a basketball fan?

The best point guard of his generation was switching teams, in his prime, to the Los Angeles Lakers … and only after the Celtics and Knicks failed to get him. Read that sentence again. It's what Dan Gilbert and the other Overpayers Anonymous owners will never understand. In professional basketball, history trumps everything else. It's not just about playing in Los Angeles. It's about playing for the fucking Lakers. It's about following the footsteps of Magic, Kareem, Wilt, West, Baylor and Shaq. It's about Showtime, Nicholson, the yellow jerseys, the Laker Girls, even that awful Randy Newman song. It's about that buzz before a big Laker home game, when the place is packed with celebs and eye candy, when you're the best guy on the team, when you might as well be the king of the world. When these idiots complain about a "big market/small market" disparity, it's almost like they never followed the league before they bought their teams. Of course there's a disparity! What kid doesn't grow up wanting to play for the Celtics, Lakers or Knicks?

Remember what pissed us off most about LeBron picking Miami over New York? It wasn't just that he tried to stack the decks with a superteam; it's that he walked away from New York, the city with the most basketball fans, the city with the biggest spotlight, the city that would have either made him immortal or broken him in two. He didn't want it. He copped out. He could have picked loyalty (Cleveland) or immortality (New York); instead, he chose help (Miami). That killed us. We hated him for it. What was telling about Chris Paul's choice was that he eschewed the Clippers (a safer basketball situation for him; he would have been able to grow with Eric Gordon, DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin) for the Lakers (a much more volatile basketball situation with Kobe's miles and Bynum's knees) for the simple reason that he wanted to be a Laker.

For the right players, it's not about cities as much as teams, uniforms, histories, owners, fans, titles … and Chris Paul cares about the right things. He's the best teammate in the league. As much as it killed me that my least favorite team landed him, the "basketball fan" side of me loved it. Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant … together? Playing across the street from my office? How cool was that? I remember when KG landed on the Celtics, one of my Lakers-fan buddies told me, "I hate KG and I hate the Celtics, but this is going to be cool."

That's how I felt about Chris Paul and the Lakers. If you love basketball — if you truly love it — you appreciated what was happening. And it had nothing to do with the Washington Generals. Believe me.

Of course, that's not how December 8, 2011 will be remembered. Years from now, I won't remember anything about that day except for David Stern losing control of his own league. Once upon a time, it was reassuring to look there and expect to see him, and darn, he was there. It was kind of neat. Those days are long gone. The National Basketball Association has lost its way. I feel like crying.

Bill Simmons is the Editor in Chief of Grantland and the author of the recent New York Times no. 1 best-seller The Book of Basketball, now out in paperback with new material and a revised Hall of Fame Pyramid. For every Simmons column and podcast, log on to Grantland. Follow him on Twitter and check out his new home on Facebook.

Baron Davis' uncertain future in Cleveland
December, 9, 2011

By Brian Windhorst
ESPN.com

With chaos raging around the league and their owner suddenly in the middle of it, the Cavs front office is dealing with a different hot potato. How it plays out could affect several title contenders.

According to league sources, it has become clear that Baron Davis’ brief stay in Cleveland is likely coming to an end. How it comes to an end, though, is complex and could have an impact on where Davis ultimately lands next. As of Friday morning the Cavs had not decided how they wanted to proceed with Davis. Meanwhile, the point guard was in Cleveland and expected to report to training camp.

For some time Davis has been a candidate to be waived by the Cavs using the amnesty clause, which would remove the two years and $28 million the Cavs owe him from the team’s books and create more than $10 million in salary-cap space. This was not the plan all along. Things changed when the Cavs won the draft lottery and took Kyrie Irving, who is now their franchise player. In addition the team has a solid backup point guard, Ramon Sessions, on the roster.

In recent weeks, sources said, Davis had been counting on becoming a free agent and setting his sights on the Lakers, Knicks and Heat. His agents have been in talks with the Cavs to facilitate the process this week.

However, the Cavs are not sure they want to amnesty Davis. They still believe he has value to the team and think he could potentially become a strong trade asset later this season or next summer. The Cavs, sources said, were also turned off by the thought of Davis being paid by them but ultimately ending up in Miami helping LeBron James compete for a title.

Trying to work through the issues, Davis’ representation has also been involved in buyout talks with the Cavs, sources said. In a buyout, Davis might have to give up some of the money owed to him over the next two years but he would become an outright free agent. In this case, he would not have to pass through the league’s new amnesty waiver system where another team could bid and then acquire his rights.

Davis figures to be significantly in demand, especially in New York where starter Chauncey Billups appears on his way out to facilitate a Tyson Chandler signing. If the Lakers are unable to complete a trade for Chris Paul, they would also likely remain in the race if Davis gets out of Cleveland. The Heat are also in need of a point guard.

If Davis is amnestied another team could block those moves by bidding on Davis. After they making their moves, the Knicks, Lakers and Heat aren’t expected to have salary cap space and therefore could not bid on Davis.

Will Chauncey Billups be in play for Heat?

December, 9, 2011

1:12 PM ET

By Tom Haberstroh
ESPN.com


How Chauncey Billups and other amnesty candidates could potentially become available to the Heat.

One of the biggest questions circling the Miami Heat these days is whether they will be able to make a play for players cut via the amnesty rule.

Can Baron Davis, Chauncey Billups, Richard Jefferson, and other amnesty candidates be possibilities to join the Heat if they are indeed released by their respective teams?

It's a great question. The short answer: it's possible, but chances are slim. The long answer is written by our CBA guru Larry Coon at TrueHoop, who explains what we know about the amnesty rule at this point [bolded text mine]:
One concern with the concept of amnesty is that every released player would simply pack his bags and head to South Beach to sign with the Heat. The league came up with a clever idea to keep this from happening. Before clearing waivers, the players will go through a “secondary waiver” process where teams under the cap can submit a bid. (That’s right, it’s a silent auction, just like when you bid on that trip to Tahoe at your kid’s school fundraiser.) The highest bidder gets the player. Only players who clear both the regular waiver process and these new secondary waivers will actually become free agents.
Teams have to utilize cap room in order to bid for an amnestied player. This means that teams that are over the cap are automatically out of the running. A capped-out team like the Heat or Lakers has to wait for an amnestied player to clear secondary waivers before they have a chance to sign him. It is assumed that all the good players – including possible amnesty cuts Baron Davis and Chauncey Billups – will be snatched-up in the secondary waiver process, and won’t make it all the way to free agency.
If a team acquires an amnestied player through secondary waivers, then it is likely they will be able to trade the player after 30 days – just like any other player claimed through the waiver process. This is another detail that has not yet been confirmed by the league. Nor is it known what the player’s trade value will be for salary matching purposes, but it will likely be the amount the team is actually paying the player (i.e., the amount of their bid).
While this has also not been confirmed by the league, it is likely that teams will not be allowed to re-sign or re-acquire (for example, through a trade) their amnestied player for the length of his amnestied contract. For example, if the Magic, as expected, use their amnesty on Gilbert Arenas – with three years left on his contract – he can’t play for the Magic again for three seasons. This rule also existed in the 2005 amnesty provision.

Lots of stuff to chew on for the Heat here. What's clear is that the Heat will closely monitor the secondary waiver process for potential amnesty cuts like point guards Davis and Billups. If teams under the cap offer a bid, then the only way the Heat can acquire the player is by trading for him, but only after the presumed 30-day window expires.

So, one possible scenario: The Knicks use their amnesty provision on Billups and the Nuggets submit a winning bid. The Nuggets could then trade Billups after 30 days, if they were so inclined, to the Heat sometime in January.

But that assumes that the Heat could entice the Nuggets, or whichever team claims him, with a trade offer. Would a possibly healthy Mike Miller become trade bait? Would the Heat actually dangle Udonis Haslem if it meant a legitimate starting point guard was on the way? Those could become important questions.

There's also a chance that agents will scare off potential bidders in order to secure an appealing destination in free agency. Billups' agent has already reportedly growled that his client won't be exactly thrilled to play for a team not of his choice. Whether that growling actually is effective or not is yet to be seen. Still, it's unlikely that Billups or any other amnestied players fall into the Heat's lap.

Magic acquire F Davis from Celtics for F Bass

By HOOPSWORLD

Basketball News & NBA Rumors


The Orlando Magic acquired Glen Davis from the Boston Celtics in exchange for Brandon Bass in a trade of power forwards.

Davis, who has spent his first four seasons with the Boston Celtics, averaged a career-high 11.7 points and 5.5 rebounds last season.

A former second-round pick out of Louisiana State, he started 13 of 78 games last season.

The 6-8, 250-pound Bass also is coming off his best season, averaging 11.2 points and 5.6 rebounds in 76 games with the Magic last season.

A third-round pick in 2005, he has spent two seasons each with Orlando, Dallas and New Orleans.

Report: Pistons Waiving Hamilton

By HOOPSWORLD


Source: Rip Hamilton has been waived by the Pistons. Will be bought out. Not an amnesty transaction.

via Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free-Press

Updated: December 9, 2011, 4:20 pm ET


Sources: Chris Paul Talks Back On

By HOOPSWORLD


New Orleans, Houston and Lakers are re-engaged in talks to find a new way to complete Chris Paul blockbuster trade, league sources tell Y!

via Adrian Wojnarowski via Twitter

OK. The Baron Davis situation and others.

Players are asking to get bought out instead of having their team use the amnesty clause on them. This allows them to go to the team of their choosing instead of a bid process only open to teams that are under the cap.

So the team can save some money. Easy to negotiate with players with only one season remaining but more difficult with more then one. Baron Davis has more then one.

Before clearing waivers, the players will go through a “secondary waiver” process where teams under the cap can submit a bid. (That’s right, it’s a silent auction, just like when you bid on that trip to Tahoe at your kid’s school fundraiser.) The highest bidder gets the player. Only players who clear both the regular waiver process and these new secondary waivers will actually become free agents.
Teams have to utilize cap room in order to bid for an amnestied player. This means that teams that are over the cap are automatically out of the running. A capped-out team like the Heat or Lakers has to wait for an amnestied player to clear secondary waivers before they have a chance to sign him.

I wondered about those details. Thanks Rusty

On the "buy out vs. amnesty" thing though, if you buy the guy out I assume it STILL counts towards your cap number??

We have seen this now start to happen (Hamilton and Carter". Guys are agreeing to buy outs. That was much tougher before.

This shit is way too complicated.

I'm just going to watch and see what happens and it is certainly one of the most interesting pre-seasons the NBA has ever had with all the potential player movement.

I usually back whatever Gilbert wants to do. But I disagree with his objection over the Paul to the Lakers trade. It's for my own selfish reasons. I would be happy to see the Lakers land both Paul and Howard, just to watch them defeat the Heat and prevent them from getting a ring for the next few years.

The Cavs are at least 2 years or more from becoming contenders. I want to have any team other than the Heat become a powerhouse that can hold the title until the Cavs can compete again.

But that's just me. I'm not sure exactly what Gilbert's reasoning is, and I don't see how the Lakers trade would adversely affect him in any way.

Criticism of NBA squashing Paul trade pouring in

NEW YORK—NBA teams went back to work Friday, which for Chris Paul meant going back to New Orleans.

And there was disbelief and anger around the league -- and a commitment to try again to find him a new home.

Commissioner David Stern killed the Hornets' first attempt at moving their All-Star point guard, but New Orleans general manager Dell Demps is working to put together a new deal.

"Yes. People are still calling," Demps said. "People are still calling and we're calling people, so we're confident we can get a deal."

Paul could have been in Los Angeles on Friday, ready to pair up with Kobe Bryant as the next star in Hollywood. That fell apart Thursday when the league, which owns the Hornets, rejected a three-team trade the club had agreed to for "basketball reasons," denying the decision came about because of pressure on Stern from irate owners.

And instead of the immediate boost the league craved coming out the lockout with free agency and training camps opening, it found itself with another public relations disaster.

"That's the first thing I thought. We just got done arguing for four or five months and everyone just wants to see basketball and now this. Huge controversy, again with NBA owners," said Minnesota forward Anthony Tolliver, the Timberwolves' player representative. "I just hope it doesn't damage everybody and hope it doesn't affect everybody in the whole league, which I think it possibly could. This is a really big deal because it's everywhere, all over ESPN, all over every website, CNN, everything. It's a really big deal."

The 26-year-old Paul was seen walking into New Orleans' training facility Friday wearing a black Hornets practice jersey but did not speak to the media.

"Being a really good friend of mine, like a brother to me, I'm frustrated for him," LeBron James said after the Heat's first practice. "I wish him the best. I know where his heart is and what he wants to do with his career. I support him and hopefully things get resolved, fast, for him and his family."

Though he nixed the deal, Stern has reason for wanting the same teams to work something out. If not, and another team eventually makes a trade that is approved, it will be difficult to shake the perception that the league was dictating where it wanted Paul to go.

Demps said the team has resumed talks for Paul -- to any team -- and that he has been given autonomy to make another trade, one he hopes will keep the Hornets competitive now and create a promising future.

"We want to build the team where they're good, they compete at the highest level and also have an opportunity for the future," he said. "We don't want to just put everything into this year. We want to be a good team that competes at the highest level, and we also want to start a developmental program."

Maybe the other owners will like the next trade more.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told a radio station Friday that the league went through the lockout to prevent this very type of deal in which small-market teams lose their superstars. And a letter from Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert to Stern clearly showed he, too, objected to the deal.

"I just don't see how we can allow this trade to happen," Gilbert wrote in the letter, which was obtained by Yahoo Sports and The New York Times.

He added: "I know the vast majority of owners feel the same way that I do."

Utah Jazz president Randy Rigby said owners had no say in vetoing the trade, but applauded the move.

"I'm one who likes to see the market and teams that have invested in a player and helped develop a player have an opportunity to have that player be a long-time part of that community," Rigby said. "As a small-market team, it's very important. ... We had a lot of years of success with certain players named John Stockton, Karl Malone, who invested and committed to a community. That community committed back, and we saw a lot of success together."

Hall of Famer Magic Johnson took the opposite stance, writing on Twitter on Friday that it was the "wrong decision" by Stern and the owners.

Stern responded in a statement, saying the Hornets were "better served with Chris in a Hornets uniform than by the outcome of the terms of that trade."

When James and Chris Bosh left their small-market teams to build a potential powerhouse with Dwyane Wade in Miami, it gave owners even more motivation to seek changes that would limit the big spenders' advantages in the new collective bargaining agreement. Yet the idea of Paul in Los Angeles -- on the very day the CBA was being ratified -- served to make the entire work stoppage seem like a waste.

"We just had a lockout, and one of the goals of the lockout was to say that small-market teams now have a chance to keep their players, and the rules were designed to give them that opportunity," Cuban told ESPN 103.3 in Dallas. "So to all of a sudden have a league-owned team trade their best player, particularly after having gone out and sold a ton of tickets in that market, that's not the kind of signal you want to send."

Though Paul has never said so, there has long been speculation he would leave New Orleans when he can become a free agent this summer. The Hornets have been working to make sure they get something for him, and the proposed deal Thursday would have netted them some talent in return.

The Hornets would have received Lamar Odom, last year's top sixth man, from the Lakers, as well as forward Luis Scola, shooting guard Kevin Martin, point guard Goran Dragic and a first-round draft choice from the Houston Rockets. And the Lakers' Pau Gasol would have gone to the Rockets.

That's far better than the Hornets may get in another deal, since many teams are hesitant to offer their top players in case Paul intends to only stay one season.

Stern said Friday he also considered the Hornets' business performance when killing the deal.

"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," Stern said in the statement. "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."

The Lakers' Gasol took it in stride, ready to go back to work. He tweeted: "New day my friends. On my way to El Segundo for the first day of training camp ..."

Scola chose humor, writing that he was on his way to the Toyota Center and that "this is going to be fun. The good thing is that the TC it's on the way to the airport, just in case."

Despite those positive attitudes, Stern's statement generated plenty of anger as players reported to camps throughout the day. Bad feelings remain from the CBA negotiations, during which Stern upset players who knew they'd be making financial concessions with what they considered "take-it-or-leave-it" proposals. Paul was a member of the players' executive committee.

"This is a perfect example of the things that were so alarming during the lockout, that the owners don't want players to have freedom of choice and that doesn't work when you're dealing with the most talented people in the world at their profession," said agent Mark Bartelstein, who didn't have a player in the proposed deal.

"When you look at other entertainers, they get perform where they want. They get to make choices on what they want to do with their careers, what movie they want to be in, what city they want to perform in. Owners are doing everything they can to ratchet down freedom of choice for players."