Article Content:

It was always expected that the start of the NBA free agency/trading period would be interesting, but no one expected it to turn into a soap opera.

Last night, the New Orleans Hornets agreed to trade All-Star point guard Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a three-team deal that would have sent Lamar Odom, Kevin Martin, Luis Scola and Goran Dragic back to the Bayou, with Pau Gasol heading to the Houston Rockets. New Orleans would also receive Houston’s first round draft pick next year.

And while giving up arguably the game’s best point guard is never ideal, it seemed like the Hornets were able to at least obtain a number of assets to help them going forward.

However.

The NBA owns the Hornets. The NBA just had a lockout, partly because of a fear that small market teams were finding it tougher to hold on to superstars who seemed to be able to dictate where they could play. And last night commissioner David Stern, on the day the collective bargaining agreement was ratified (!), killed the trade after a number of owners, including Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert voiced their concerns.

And then all hell broke loose.

As Yahoo Sports Adrian Wojnarowski reports:

Officials from New Orleans, Houston and Los Angeles were stunned Thursday night. The killed trade had ripple effects everywhere in free agency and potential trades, and literally pushed the market into paralysis on the eve of training camps opening up.

“We were all told by the league he was a trade-able player, and now they’re saying that [Hornets general manager] Dell [Demps] doesn’t have the authority to make the trade?” said an NBA executive who had periodic talks with New Orleans throughout the process.

“Now, they’re saying that Dell is an idiot, that he can’t do it his job. [Expletive] this whole thing. David [Stern's] drunk on power, and he doesn’t give a [expletive] about the players, and he doesn’t give a [expletive] about the hundreds of hours the teams put in to make that deal.

“How do the Lakers explain this to Odom? How does Houston deal with the guys it just tried to trade? Scola and Martin are going to be pissed at them, and who knows how long that takes to get over? Explain to me how the league kills this Pau Gasol deal, but allows Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol?

“To me, this makes the league feel like it’s rigged, that Stern just does whatever Stern wants to do. He’s messed up the competitive balance of this league a lot worse by killing the deal, because you’ve completely destroyed the planning that New Orleans, Houston did and left them in shambles over this. I’ve never been so discouraged about this league, never so down.

“I mean, come on: Chris Paul is leaving New Orleans in 66 games. He’s gone. And what’s Dell Demps, and that franchise, going to have to show for it?”

After the news broke, Twitter user netw3rk posted: “Tonight the NBA avoided an iceberg by intentionally crashing into a larger iceberg.” And I can’t think of a more apt analogy for what has just transpired. Paul is considering legal action and other players are enraged. It will be interesting to see what the next day or so brings.

———————

Article Content:

Amid the chaos of surrounding Chris Paul (for what it’s worth, he appears to be bound for the LA Clippers), there was further bad news for NBA fans last week.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy announced his retirement due to a degenerative knee condition. The five-year veteran had been plagued by injury his entire career.

As it turns out one Roy’s last games will be his most memorable, scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Blazers to a win in game four of their opening round series against the eventual NBA champion Dallas Mavericks. You could do worse for a final act.

———————

Article Content:

The NBA has released the cost of subscribing to League Pass for the upcoming season. Fans will be able to buy the package, which includes the regular season, playoffs and All-Star game, for 9.99 (£141.25) or five monthly payments of (£28.25).

According to sources (my PayPal account), the cost of the regular season last year when bought on December 16 was 9.95 (£96.12), with the playoffs costing .95 (£64.07), so it looks like an overall savings. Given the fact that part of the season was sacrificed and the quality of play will suffer given the condensed nature of the schedule, is it enough? Or is there value in the price as it is? Let us know your thoughts.

———————

Article Content:

Amid all the talk of lockouts and trades, it’s sometimes hard to remember that NBA teams occasionally play basketball.

They do, and this year the labour stoppage-shortened season tips-off on Christmas Day. ESPN will broadcast four games, so load up on the Quality Street.

5pm Boston at New York
7.30pm Miami at Dallas
10pm Chicago at LA Lakers
1am Orlando at Oklahoma City

———————

Article Content:

The drama surrounding the on-off-on-off-on attempts to trade All-Star point guard Chris Paul reached a merciful conclusion yesterday.

The league-owned New Orleans Hornets agreed to send him to the Los Angeles Clippers in a deal that will see guard Eric Gordon, centre Chris Kaman, forward Al-Farouq Aminu and Minnesota’s unprotected 2012 first-round pick (likely to be in the top five) go back to Louisiana.

The move ends a week to forget for the NBA. It started with the league scuppering a three-way deal that would have sent Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers. After that, attention turned to the other team at Staples Centre, and after a few days of bargaining, Paul is a Clipper.

And while the move is beneficial for both teams, it’s not without risk. The addition of Paul to a line-up that already includes Blake Griffin means the Clippers have arguably more star power than the Lakers. Read that again. The Clippers have arguably more star power than the Lakers. That’s like saying Oldham Athletic has arguably more star power than Manchester United.

However, it’s worth noting that Paul, and Griffin for that matter, is a free agent after the 2013 season and has a history of knee issues. That said, these are exciting times for the Clippers. Well, as excited as you can be for a team owned by Donald Sterling.

As for the Hornets, they only had six players under contract at the start of training camp, so at least they should be able to scrimmage now. Seriously though, for all the abuse NBA commissioner David Stern has endured over the last seven days he has at least managed to land a package that will for a superstar that was going to walk away, and hopefully make them attractive to an buyer willing to keep the team in New Orleans for the long-term.

———————

Article Content:

You’ll never guess what the NBA did this weekend? Go on. OK, I’ll tell you. Played (pre-season) basketball! And while the usual disclaimers about the pre-season apply, here are some the things that happened.

The Good

Ricky Rubio

The Spanish point guard made a nice impression in his first NBA appearance. He did Ricky Rubio things, creating some shots for his teammates, as he compiled six points, seven assists and six rebounds in 23 minutes. More impressively, he inspired what might have been the first chant of “Ole, Ole, Ole” in the history of the State of Minnesota

The Bad

Jeff Green

The Boston Celtics lost Jeff Green for the season after a medical found he had an aortic aneurysm. Fortunately, doctors believe he will be able to resume his career next season.

The Ugly

Dwight Howard

The swirling trade rumours surrounding Howard didn’t help him or the Orlando Magic as he had five points and six rebounds in his side’s 118-85 drubbing at the hands of the Miami Heat (remember them!).

———————

Article Content:

The Los Angeles Clippers started to live up to their Lob City nickname in their first pre-season game with recent acquisition Chris Paul against the Lakers last night.

Let’s not try to look at the symbolism of the Clippers beating the Lakers and make some sweeping pronouncement about a shift in power in LA (pre-season and all that). Let’s just say the Clippers are going to be awesome to watch.

———————

Article Content:

Team GB women’s player Julie Page has been named British Basketball Player of the Year.

The power forward earned the award after leading the national team to the second round of EuroBasket 2011, averaging 10 points a game and 7.5 rebounds for the team that came within three points of defeating eventual winners Russia.

Page, who signed with Polish side Energa Torun after the summer, said: “I am honoured and immensely proud to have been named the British Basketball Player of the Year 2011.

“Just to be considered alongside so many talented and accomplished players is extremely humbling, but to actually win the award is a tremendous privilege.

“This year has been an incredible ride for both me personally and the Standard Life GB women’s team. I would like to extend my gratitude and eternal thanks to everyone who has believed in and supported me throughout my career.”

Meanwhile, point guard Devon Van Oostrum was named Emerging Athlete 2011. The 18-year-old parlayed a strong showing with the U20 side into a place with the senior team at EuroBasket.

He said: “I am so happy to have been awarded this title, especially since it was my first official outing with the GB senior men’s side.

“The under-20 and senior games were a great chance to play with older and more experienced players. I learnt a lot from them and also made some new friends along the way. Without their help I wouldn’t have won this award.”

British Basketball performance director Chris Spice added: “Both Julie and Devon have had great seasons for GB this summer and I congratulate them on their awards.

“They also both know the value of hard work and determination and we hope they will continue to improve and become major players in our Olympic campaign next year.”

———————

Article Content:

As we all know, the NBA season tips-off with five games season tomorrow, here are some thoughts about the months ahead.

Miami Nice The consensus seems to think that the Miami Heat will overcome the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals. And as much as I’d like to offer a contrarian view, I can’t. And weirdly enough, with all the attention given to the lockout/Chris Paul/Dwight Howard, the Heatles have fallen under the radar. Granted, the flaws they had last year, most notably the lack of an effective centre, are still there (unless you believe in Eddy Curry). That said, the first season of the Heat’s Big Three experiment really should have ended in a title. They won’t fall short this year. Miami to beat OKC in five games in the NBA finals.

Thunder Roll The Thunder should survive a very close Western Conference, but don’t be surprised if the Dallas Mavericks (who only went and won the NBA title last year), Los Angeles Lakers or (gasp) Los Angeles Clippers emerge. Speaking of which…

LA Story Los Angeles been Lakerland since they arrived from Minneapolis. Sure the Clippers have played in LA, but there was no doubt about the pecking order. That could change this year. With the arrival of Chris Paul, suddenly Lob City has usurped Showtime in the hype stakes. Will it do so in the standings? It’s possible.

Free Basketball! NBA League Pass International is free until January 9, so check out the start of what will be a fascinating season for yourself. Merry Christmas!

———————

Article Content:

Impressive intro from today’s NBA coverage. It’d be even more impressive if they got NBA League Pass International to work.

———————