(Opinion) Lakers/New Orleans/Chris Paul situation black eye for the NBA

At a time when anticipation and excitement should be about the return of the NBA season & training camps opening today, the focus is instead on the NBA putting a stop to the Lakers/Chris Paul deal. If this deal doesn't go through, there will be a big black cloud (of conspiracy) hanging over the NBA for the rest of the season. Why David Stern would put himself & the league in this situation because of pressure from rival team owners, boggles the mind.

This is a case of big market/small market paranoia gone wrong & an example of why there should never be a league owned team. This was actually a pretty good deal for the Hornets & they would be hard pressed to find a better one. "The proposed trade would have sent Paul to the Lakers, Pau Gasol to the Rockets and furnished New Orleans with three top-flight NBA players in Kevin Martin, Luis Scola and Lamar Odom as well as playoff-tested guard Goran Dragic and a 2012 first-round pick that Houston had acquired from the Knicks." via espn.com. I'm hoping everybody involved comes to their senses & they resolve this debacle asap.