Thursday marked five years since the NBA vetoed a trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers, and former Commissioner David Stern discussed the controversial decision during a recent question-and-answer session with students from the Marist College Center for Sports Communication and Columbia University sports management program Tuesday.
Responding to a question regarding the call to cancel the blockbuster deal, Stern explained the NBA stepped in because the New Orleans Hornets were a league-owned entity when the deal was initially agreed upon.
"I'm going to correct your language: What 'cancellation'? The GM [Dell Demps] was not authorized to make that trade," Stern said (h/t RealGM). "And acting on behalf of owners, we decided not to make it. I was an owner rep. There was nothing to 'void.' It just never got made."
Stern's complete response can be heard beginning at the 1:01 mark below:
At the time of the veto, Stern merely cited "basketball reasons" to explain why the league office did not push the deal through.
During the discussion Tuesday, he elaborated on why ...
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Article written by Alec Nathan
David Stern Comments on Lakers’ ‘Voided’ Trade for Chris Paul in 2011
December 8th, 2016 by Alec Nathan Leave a reply »
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