Blocked teams in Paul trade appealing ruling
The three teams involved in the proposed Chris Paul trade that was blocked by NBA commissioner David Stern are appealing the decision, ESPN reported citing sources on Friday.
Stern blocked the deal which saw the Los Angeles Lakers reach an agreement to acquire the All-Star point guard from the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. The Houston Rockets were also included in the mix.
The three teams’ primary argument essentially is that the league’s decision thereby forces the Hornets to keep Paul for the rest of the season. Should that be the case, Paul would become a free agent on July 1 and leave New Orleans without any compensation.
The teams are also contending that the NBA, in essence, would choose where Paul could play since it owns the Hornets.
The Hornets would have received Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, Goran Dragic and a first-round pick from Houston for Gasol, who would be re-routed to the Rockets.
Paul has averaged 18.7 points and 9.9 assists during his six NBA seasons.
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