NBA commissioner David Stern released a statement Friday on his Thursday veto of the league-owned New Orleans Hornets' trade sending All-Star point guard Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers.
"Since the NBA purchased the New Orleans Hornets, final responsibility for significant management decisions lies with the Commissioner's Office in consultation with team chairman Jac Sperling. All decisions are made on the basis of what is in the best interests of the Hornets. In the case of the trade proposal that was made to the Hornets for Chris Paul, we decided, free from the influence of other NBA owners, that the team was better served with Chris in a Hornets uniform than by the outcome of the terms of that trade."
A year ago, when the league took over the Hornets, Stern had made clear that his office would approve moves recommended by appointed chairman Sperling, team president Hugh Weber and general manager Dell Demps. It is unclear what has changed.
Multiple owners have been reported to have pushed Stern to block the trade. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban openly admittedly his distaste with the deal on Friday. Yahoo! published an e-mail from Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert decrying the deal late Thursday.
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