When David Stern vetoed the trade which bought Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant and changed the NBA forever
Chris Paul may have been a champion, while Kobe Bryant would've tied Michael Jordan for most title wins or surpassed him if not for former NBA commissioner David Stern. In 2011, Stern vetoed a trade that would've seen CP3 form a superteam alongside the aging Bryant on the Lakers.
Paul played for the New Orleans Hornets then, a team owned by the NBA, with the other 29 team owners acting as shareholders. A week later, the Hornets traded Paul to the Lakers' cross-town rivals, the LA Clippers.
That move to veto the trade altered the future of the Lakers and the entire league. LA would've been on its way to forming another dynasty after winning five championships in 10 years before that offseason.
Kobe Bryant would've gotten the help he needed and potentially expanded his career with a lesser workload than he had to carry out once he turned 32. Paul was arguably among the top three point guards in the NBA, still 26, entering his career's prime.
It would've been a power shift in favor of the Lakers as they also didn't have to compromise on cap space or give up draft picks.
The trade would've landed Chris Paul with the Lakers, sent Pau Gasol to the Rockets, Lamar Odom, Luis Scola (from Houston), Kevin Martin (from Houston), and Goran Dragic (from Houston) would've ended with New Orleans.
Understanding why David Stern vetoed Chris Paul's trade which would've sent him to Kobe Bryant's Lakers
The blockbuster trade to send Chris Paul to the LA Lakers was nearly done. However, David Stern intervened at the last minute to veto it. But why did Stern do that? Multiple factors contributed to it.
When other NBA owners, particularly Mavericks' Mark Cuban, and Cavaliers' Dan Gilbert, understood the logistics of the trade and how much it would've favored the Kobe Bryant and Co., they instantly opposed the move.
Other contenders would've struggled and how to form a team as good as the Lakers if the deal went through. Gilbert reportedly even wrote a letter to Stern to express his displeasure, and Stern eventually succumbed to the concerns raised by rival team owners.
David Stern claimed he stopped the trade citing "basketball reasons." The move may have benefitted the three teams involved (LA Lakers, New Orleans Hornets and Houston Rockets) but not the other 27. Stern's decision created a balance across the league.
This is the actual email written by Dan Gilbert to David Stern that prompted the NBA commissioner to veto the CP3 trade to the Lakers
“I just don’t see how we can allow this trade to happen”
History repeats itself… https://t.co/r8mB96NxPm
The NBA saw five different champions lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy after vetoing that trade. The Lakers, Rockets, Hornets, or the Clippers, where Chris Paul eventually landed, weren't among those teams.
The Lakers suffered the most after that trade failed, as they couldn't surround Kobe Bryant with a contending team. Bryant's injuries piled up and forced him into retirement. The Lakers finished in the lottery in Bryant's last three years and the three seasons after that.
At least lil @CP3 and baby Mamba can play together NBA can't veto this one Ha! http://t.co/pJAjr2wJ
The Clippers never made the conference finals. The Hornets' highlight was landing Anthony Davis with the No. 1 pick in 2012, while the Rockets made some noise with James Harden as their lead man but only reached as far as the conference finals on multiple occasions.