CPIII to the Lakers...Oops, never, mind, I take that back

First of all, let me say that as a Celtics fan and as a resident of New Orleans, I was not pleased when I read that Chris Paul was being traded to the Lakers. I wanted Paul to go to any team BUT the Lakers, and wasn't thrilled with the Hornets return.

That being said, the turn of events after this deal was agreed to is nothing other than embarrassing. The league let Dell Demps negotiate with the Celtics, Clippers, Lakers, Warriors, and who knows what other teams for the last week. They let offers come in, and counteroffers get sent back out. Not a single word was uttered about a deal being disallowed. When Demps realized that Stephen Curry and Eric Gordon were not going to be part of any trade due to Paul's unwillingness to sign long-term with the Warriors or Clippers, he pulled the trigger on a deal that would have netted the Hornets three bona fide starters: Lamar Odom, Luis Scola, and Kevin Martin. They also would have received Goran Dragic and a first round pick. And the Lakers were giving up Pau Gasol, one of the top 20 players in the league, and last season's 6th Man of the Year. I would have preferred a deal in which the Hornets got more pieces for the future, but considering that everyone knew that their feet were to the fire, Demps' haul was far from a swing and a miss. Should they have agreed to the Celtics offer--Rajon Rondo, Jeff Green, and 2 first rounders--instead? Perhaps, but it's debatable. Rondo easily has the most potential of anyone in either offer. But it's becoming clear that Rondo will continue to be a confounding player, whose shooting woes substantially detract from all his positives. And Jeff Green, well, he's the guy that Danny Ainge traded for last year in a deal that was pretty much universally derided. Noone really cares about Jeff Green.

So Dell Demps agreed to a deal that would have left the Hornets with a competitive team, though little youth. He agreed to it after tirelessly working the phones ever since the lockout ended. And then the league, and who knows whether the "league" here refers to David Stern, Dan Gilbert, Mark Cuban, or some combination of the three, decided to pull the plug on the deal. So why did they allow for any negotiations to occur over the last week? Why didn't they just say from the get-go that Paul couldn't be traded until a new owner came in? And what exactly are the Hornets supposed to do now?