On December 8, 2011, the NBA canceled the transfer of Chris Paul to the Lakers…

« It was crazy and exciting… We told ourselves that we couldn’t lose with both of them in the same team. Then with the snap of a finger, everything disappeared… »

Announced in April 2016just before the retirement of the late “Black Mamba”, these words from Chris Paul regarding his possible cohabitation with Kobe Bryant in hinterland of the Lakers sum up well how much he regretted (and undoubtedly will forever regret…) not being able to share the same jersey as his elder, outside of Team USA.

In mid-December 2011, everything seemed to have come together for the Paul/Bryant duo to form on the side Los Angeles. On leaving with Hornets (of New Orleans), “CP3” makes sense in the eyes of many teams, given his status as an All-Star leader at just 26 years old.

Obviously, not everyone can afford it, because you have to give up something heavy in return, but “Purple & Gold” can withstand more than rope. While their leaders dream of forming the XXXL “Big Three”, bringing Dwight Howard back to California as a bonus, to answer the heat and return to the throne…

The goal of attractiveness…

Finally, the Lakers were able to come to an agreement with the Hornets and Rockets to get Chris Paul back by sending Pau Gasol to Houston, while New Orleans Lamar Odom, Kevin Martin, Luis Scola and Goran Dragic must enter this story. A big trade that has everything to change the face of this Mavericks-dominated league!

Yes, but here it is: David Sternthe commissioner at that time, has a say in this transaction, because the New Orleans franchise belongs to the NBA since December 2010, due to the inability of George Sheen (former owner) to ensure its financial stability.

Coming out of the attempt lockingand probably under pressure from a few more leaders (including Dan Gilbert of the Cavaliers, even if he will logically deny it in a press release…), the big league boss thus decides to use his veto power!

Officially, ” in the best interest of the Hornets “car” the team was better with Chris (Paul) in (this) jersey “. Unofficially, for “ that hornets are attractive to a potential (buyer) », by Stu Jackson In 2021, David Stern’s former right-hand man. ” With our role as interim owners, the goal was to attract a buyer for the franchise and then resell it to someone ».

Chris Paul is moving from the Lakers… to the Clippers

In the Lakers camp, the pill is clearly going hard, and some are going so far as to talk about “punishment”, even if the NBA authorizes them to continue negotiations with the Hornets (and the Rockets), so as not to weaken New Orleans too much so that the transfer is not blocked again commissioner.

After all, it won’t be: Chris Paul will never join Kobe Bryant and the rest under the purple and gold tunic. On the other hand, he will indeed land in Los Angeles, but on the side of… the Clippers. Because on December 14, 2011, six days after turning down the Purple & Gold offer, David Stern accepted the neighbor’s offer Angeleno : Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouk Aminu, future first round draft picks…

As some like to say, the rest is history and the final word is with someone named Kobe Bryant, in April 2016.

« I knew who the contestant (Chris Paul) was and I knew he would be a perfect fit between us. We started talking about what we were going to do and what patterns to use to make it work. But none of that ever happened… »

As for Chris Paul, he confided this in July 2020: “ I always say I played for the Lakers for a short time. Like, a few hours… »