Roger Mason Says CBA Negotiations Were 'Weird' For Chris Paul

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Washington Wizards guard Roger Mason and New Orleans Hornets star Chris Paul were both executive board members of the NBA Players Association this summer, and because of that, they spent a lot of time negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with David Stern. So you can imagine that Mason has a lot to say about what Stern has done in vetoing at least one potential trade that would have sent Paul away from the Hornets.

"I feel horrible for CP3," Mason told reporters on Day 4 of Washington Wizards training camp. "He's a guy who's been a complete professional."

Mason is not the first player to support Paul publicly, so the above quote isn't unique. The following quote, though, is. According to Mason, it was awkward for Paul during the new CBA negotiations, because so many of the rules the owners wanted to put in place directly impacted his decision.

"It was a little weird being on the board and in negotiations, when a lot of the parts we were talking about had a direct impact on Chris. It's like, you have David Stern in the room, and then you had Chris in the room," he said. "The dynamic was just a little weird."

All of this makes you wonder if Stern and the owners are now carrying out their revenge on Paul after all those long negotiations. It's a cynical point of view to take, but with everything that's gone on in this saga, can you really blame anyone for jumping to that conclusion?