Former NBA commissioner David Stern explained why he vetoed the original Chris Paul trade that involved the New Orleans Hornets, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets five years ago, he told Brian Berger on the Sports Business Radio Road Show.
“I'm going to correct your language: What 'cancelation'? The GM [Dell Demps] was not authorized to make that trade,” Stern said. “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.”
“When you're the commissioner and you have two teams that are ticked off at you, as in the Lakers and Houston, and the GMs without wanting to be attributed, spend their time trashing you, the wrong impression can be granted.