On The Court: Chris Paul to Lakers Trade Called Off

Last night, basketball fans raved about the Laker's acquisition of Chris Paul only to be let down by David Stern calling off the trade.  The complex three team trade deal consisted Chris Paul (New Orleans), Pau Gasol (L.A.), Lamar Odom (L.A.), Kevin Martin (Houston), and Luis Scola (Houston).  It was announced that the deal had been made moving Gasol to houston, Odom, Scola, and Martin to New Orleans, and Paul to L.A.  After complaints from various owners including Mark Cuban (being allegedly very vocal) forced David Stern to intervene.  Part of the post-lockout collective bargaining agreement was to prevent large franchise teams to leverage smaller teams.  Stern, showing support for free agency, vetoed the deal.

I'm not much of Lakers fan but I do credit them for being an outstanding basketball team supporting a legendary franchise.  My reactions to the trade before it was revoked initially was shock and confusion.  So much uncertainty comes about when two players who dominate the ball are forced to play on the same team.  Surely being a play maker, Paul could complement Bryant's game but Kobe, for the most part, creates his own shot.  Meanwhile, I would credit a large part of the Lakers' previous success to their dominant big men, on both offense and defense.  As much as I was excited to see Paul and Bryant play together, I think the better move was keeping Gasol in L.A. but since the trade was made and called off, the players are now aware of their worth to their teams.

Now is the question of Dwight Howard.  Chris Broussard of ESPN claims that he is preparing to ask the Magic for a trade to New Jersey.  This will put pressure on the Lakers to trade Andrew Bynum so that Howard can team up with Kobe.

To me, Andrew Bynum is not equivalent to Dwight Howard.  Yes, he's got the size and potential to be dominant but Howard already has shown that he is, whereas Bynum's injuries have kept him very inconsistent.  The Magic better try to get more out of this trade, because Bynum alone is not going to be able to replace Howard.