With rumors surfacing over the last few weeks regarding a potential return to the Los Angeles Lakers for veteran forward Lamar Odom, there is one technicality that might end up making the reunion between the two sides nothing more than an unrealistic fantasy for Lakers fans.

That would be the NBA’s new rule that prohibits players from returning to their old teams as free agents less than a calendar year after that team has dealt them away in a trade.

As the postseason embarks upon its final stage, many have probably forgotten about the messy labor dispute that was not resolved until December, thus shortening the regular season campaign to a compacted 66 game schedule.

Once the new collective bargaining agreement was finally agreed upon, this new rule concerning the actual freedom of these free agents was implemented so that they would not simply be able to negotiate buyouts of their contracts with their new teams – as they so often did in salary cap-based trades – and rejoin their previous squad only a month later.

In a move that was heavily scrutinized at the time, the Lakers traded Odom to the Dallas Mavericks on December 11^th for a first round draft pick. Los Angeles would go on to send that pick to the Houston Rockets at the trade deadline in the deal that gave them long-time Laker guard Derek Fisher in exchange for forward Jordan Hill.

Odom, 32, immediately demanded that Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak trade him after Commissioner David Stern rescinded a blockbuster three-team deal between the Lakers, Rockets and the then-owned New Orleans Hornets that would have had him playing in the Big Easy.

Plagued by a rough offseason filled with personal issues that were non-basketball related, Odom did not appear to give the Mavs a whole-hearted effort this season. Averaging only 6.6 points per game, he had the worst scoring season of his career and was deactivated by Dallas with about a month remaining.

Having been a Laker since being acquired from the Miami Heat in the 2004 Shaquille O’Neal trade, many believe that Odom left his heart in Los Angeles, which may have also played a major role in his dreadful stint with the defending world champion Mavs.

The popular belief is that Dallas will buy out Odom sometime this month for $2.4 million, making him an unrestricted free agent. But despite the fact that he would be eligible to return to the Lakers on December 11^th – that is, if the chatter is true and both sides are willing to try things out again – sources close to Odom say he would not be willing to miss about six weeks of action leading up to then, which would shut the door on the discussion before it could ever even really open.

In seven seasons with the Lakers, Odom averaged 13.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. He was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in his final season with the team and was also a major contributor to their back-to-back NBA Finals victories over the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

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David Stern would never openly admit it to us. Nope, no commissioner would ever even publicly hint at a sense of displeasure, anger or absolute frustration regarding which franchise just received the number one pick in the upcoming draft – especially when that pick is projected to be an absolute can’t-miss superstar the way Kentucky’s Anthony Davis is.

But let’s be real about this; the New Orleans Hornets winning the NBA Draft Lottery on Wednesday night was Stern’s worst nightmare come to life.

If you compound the never before seen sequence of events that took place involving the Hornets and their elite point guard Chris Paul just before this abbreviated 66 game season got underway with the all-time historically atrocious struggles of the Charlotte Bobcats during 2012, nothing could make Stern look shadier to the league’s ever so skeptical fan base, which is now crying out conspiracy.

It all began way back in early December when Stern – thinking not as the impartial commissioner, but rather as the Hornets owner due to the league having control over the franchise at the time – shockingly pulled the plug on a blockbuster three team deal between New Orleans, the L.A. Lakers, and the Houston Rockets for what he justified as “basketball reasons.”

The trade would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers, seven foot forward Pau Gasol to the Rockets, and forward Lamar Odom, guards Goran Dragic and Kevin Martin, forward Luis Scola and the Rockets’ 2012 first round draft pick to the Hornets.

Stern expressed that the transaction was “not in the best interest of the Hornets,” but given that the pieces offered included an immediate first round pick and four players that have proven that they possess very solid NBA talent over the years, no one cared to buy that explanation.

The Lakers said they would work to sweeten the deal in order to completely appease New Orleans; however, Los Angeles’ other basketball team, the Clippers, began to show interest in acquiring Paul.

And from that very moment Stern’s level of trust amongst viewers has inevitably taken the mother of all nosedives.

At this point fans everywhere knew that if the Clippers – the most insignificant team in the Los Angeles sports scene since moving to the city only a handful of decades ago – went on to win this battle, it would be for a reason. What would it be exactly? To finally make them relevant and actually add some spice to a Lakers-Clippers ‘rivalry’ that has always been conquered by the Kobe Bryant-led purple and gold.

So when the Clippers did get Paul for guard Eric Gordon, center Chris Kaman, forward Al-Farouq Aminu and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 2012 first round draft pick, that only added fuel to their argument. How does that trade sound any better than the one the Lakers and Rockets put together? Oh, that’s right, it doesn’t. Not to mention the fact that the Hornets had to ship off two future second round picks of their own in this deal.

All that did was give the appearance that Stern was attempting to rig the power balance in the West for years to come. The Clippers had their best season in franchise history, finishing fifth in the conference at 40-26. Meanwhile, the Hornets closed out the season with a record of 21-45 – tied for third-worst in the entire league.

Gordon did only participate in nine games all year long with a bone bruise in his knee, so it’s unsure how the team would have performed with him out there consistently. However, he can leave the team this offseason as a free agent, something that should have kept the Hornets from desiring him in the first place.

Farouq Aminu only averaged an inadequate six points and 22 minutes per game this season, and Kaman’s struggles got to a point where the team discussed sending him home or releasing him.

There’s a great likelihood that the team would not have had such turmoil had they just gone through with the initial Paul trade. Odom did have the worst season of his career in 2012, as a result of personal issues stemming from both being a trade piece and a rough offseason, but other than that, Martin, Dragic, and Scola averaged 17.1, 11.7 and 15.5 points per game, respectively.

The Rockets also missed the playoffs by a mere two games, as they posted a 34-32 record.

On top of all this, the team with the worst winning percentage of all-time, the Bobcats at .106, didn’t win the draft lottery? You’re kidding, right?

Too bad Stern can’t force the Hornets to give the pick to the Bobcats. He definitely wanted to after the process made him look like a complete sham.

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It has been a few days, but fans, players, and executives alike still cannot believe what took place Thursday night. Chris Paul was finally dealt by New Orleans, and the Commissioner simply blocked the trade for what he referred to as “basketball reasons.” Let’s be honest – this move was absolutely mind-blowing and completely unfair to all three teams involved.

The majority of the outrage comes from Laker fans who thought for just a few hours that they were receiving possibly the best point guard the league has to offer. Along with the aid of the Rockets, Los Angeles gave up the necessary quality pieces in order to obtain a superstar like Paul.

Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol are two of the most versatile big men in the game today. At seven feet, Gasol is extremely athletic in the low post with the ability to shoot from the outside. Meanwhile, Odom is capable of much of the same at six foot ten, but can also take opponents off the dribble from anywhere on the floor and consistently knocks down three pointers.

The Rockets threw in some nice talent as well. Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, and Goran Dragic are viewed as players with good experience who still have room to grow into even better players. Houston was also prepared to give New Orleans a first-round pick in this trade, which is something that every team would love to have. Yet somehow David Stern did not believe this deal benefited the Hornets enough.

That notion is beyond comprehension. The teams have now modified the deal and resubmitted it for approval, according to ESPN. If this is successful, it will not be due to the fact that it is now substantial to the Hornets’ needs, however. On the contrary, it will have resulted from Stern’s inability to handle even more pressure and heat that most of the observing parties will put upon him.

The small market owners who originally complained to him after this deal was initially reported will still be upset regardless. That has to be what all of this really boils down to in the end. The idea of all-stars joining forces to create ‘super teams’ is exciting for fans in those cities, but saddening for the rest of the league when the competition realistically includes just a handful of franchises.

Stern understands that, but it should not give him the right to cancel a trade that general managers worked vigorously to complete in a just manner, even if the league does own the team like they do the Hornets. There is a certain amount of control that the league has over players, but when negotiations are executed in a proper fashion they should not prohibit them from walking. Paul has done nothing wrong and does not deserve to be punished by being forced to stay with a team that he clearly wants to leave.

What Stern does not realize is that Paul is actually making the morally correct decision in this situation. He has openly admitted that he will opt out of his contract this summer and sign elsewhere. The popular belief is that, if this were to happen, he would then sign with the Knicks. By doing this, he at least gives the Hornets the opportunity to trade him in his contract year and get something for him.

The biggest risk that Stern takes in blocking this trade is held in the hands of the Lakers and Knicks. These are the only two teams that Paul states he would sign extensions with if traded. What happens if the Lakers suddenly get a better deal with the Magic in exchange for Dwight Howard and decide that Paul is not worth it or realize they do not have enough for him?

The Knicks do not have the necessary assets, unlike the Lakers, and this could lead to a nightmare scenario where Paul does not get traded at all this year. That would then allow him the option to sign with either team over the off-season, leaving the Hornets with nothing in return.

Unfortunately, Stern made the assumption that something like this could never occur. However, one of the only things we know in life is that we can never be too sure. To put it bluntly, he made an atrociously risky decision with false reasoning as support. This is inexcusable, even if the new deal is approved.

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Within a few hours of a blockbuster deal was approved to send all-star guard Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers, David Stern and NBA league office blocked the trade.

The purposed deal was a three team trade between the New Orleans Hornets, Los Angeles Lakers, and Houston Rockets. The deal would have landed Paul with the Lakers, sent Pau Gasol to the Rockets, and given the Hornets Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Lamar Odom, Goran Dragic, and a 2012 first-round pick from Houston.

NBA analysts across the nation are confused by the trade being blocked by the league office, as this seemed like the best way to solve Paul’s contract situation. The popular thinking is that if the deal was approved, the Hornets would at least be able to replace Paul with quality pieces instead of getting nothing in return.

Paul can opt out of his contract at the end of the season becoming a free agent, which allows him to sign to any team that is willing to make him an offer. Paul is on record stating that he would not sign a contract extension with the Hornets, and would like to test the free agent waters which have shown to be very lucrative; Amare Stoudemire received 100 million over 5 years during last year’s free agent frenzy.

With so many lingering questions as to why the trade was blocked, the league has yet to make a detailed statement on the issue. This hesitation has brought about speculation that the deal was killed due to overwhelming pressure from small market owners.  That theory is gaining traction as Yahoo.com acquired an e-mail sent from Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert to David Stern.

In the e-mail Gilbert states,”It would be a travesty to allow the Lakers to acquire Chris Paul in the apparent trade being discussed. This trade should go to a vote of the 29 owners of the Hornets.”

This issue is further muddied by the fact that the NBA owns the New Orleans Hornets. It is believe that the NBA league abused its power as an owner to negate this deal. The league’s stance on owning the Hornets has been that all basketball operations would be handled by the Hornet’s managerial staff without intrusion.

Paul is hoping that the seemingly obvious intrusion can be deemed illegal as he is looking to pursue legal action, with the help of NBPA director Billy Hunter, against the NBA. The NBA has just gotten over one of the worst PR nightmares in the form of the 2011 lockout just to jump in the middle of another one. To make matters worse, there are reports that both Paul and Odom will not attend training camp which is scheduled to open on December 9^th.

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In the wee hours of Saturday morning, the National Basketball Players Association and team owners came to a tentative agreement to end the NBA Lockout.

After a 15 hour negotiation session high ranking officials Derek Fisher, Billy Hunter, David Stern, Adam Silver, Maurice Evans, and Peter Holt emerged to address the press. For the first time since the lockout began on July 1, 149 days ago, they were able to deliver encouraging news.

The season is set to begin on December 25 with a triple header, possibly featuring the teams that were originally scheduled to play on Christmas. The matchups include the New York Knicks vs the Boston Celtics, the Dallas Mavericks vs the Miami Heat, and the Chicago Bulls vs the Los Angeles Lakers.

This would be the start of a compressed 66 game season. Training camps would start December 9 with a two week free agency also starting on December 9. While details are still fuzzy as to how this agreement was reached, what is known is that compromises were made by both sides.

The players are set to receive a 49 and 51 “band” percent of basketball related income (BRI), down from the 57 percent that they received under the last collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The players could lose almost 200 million dollars over the 10 years that deal is scheduled for.

The players’ cut is on a sliding scale based on league performance. If BRI exceeds projections, the players receive 60.5 percent of that incremental revenue. If BRI fails to meet projections, the players receive 60.5 percent less of the amount by which BRI falls short. The players’ BRI range can never fall below 49 percent or go above 51 percent.The players did gain some ground in the negotiations as both sides agreed not to institute a hard salary cap.

With the exclusion of hard salary caps, one monumental issue where clarity is still lacking is the exactly how the luxury tax system is going to work under the new CBA. The luxury tax is in place to punish teams that exceed the salary cap by forcing teams to pay the NBA one dollar for every dollar that a team has gone over the limit. The tax also serves as a deterrent to prevent teams with deep pockets from buying all the available talent and ensure fair competition.

However, it has failed to produce positive results, as teams like the Los Angeles Lakers were 30 million over the cap last year. There is speculation that the new luxury tax would force teams to pay up a 3-1 ratio for every dollar they go over the cap. At a 3-1 ratio the punishment would be far harsher and encourage the fair play that small market teams have clamored over for years.

While all of this news seems encouraging, there is no guarantee that the season will actually start on Christmas. There are still important issues that need to be hammered out and voted on by the membership of both parties. Fans of the NBA can only hope that both sides can truly reach an agreement and give the best Christmas present of all.

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A host of NBA stars converged upon Oklahoma City Sunday night for the US Tracking Fleet Basketball Invitational hosted by hometown hero Kevin Durant. They did not disappoint, putting on quite a show for the energetic crowd.

With a final score of 176-171, players like Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and several others made sure the fans stayed entertained until the final whistle.a

Surprisingly, the high-scorer was Minnesota Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley, who finished with a Maravich-esque 56 points on 25-of-35 shooting from the field. Behind him, not-so-surprisingly, was Melo, who poured in a cool 43. King James finished with 40, and Westbrook added 34, but it would be the host himself, Kevin Durant, who put on the biggest show of all.

KD finished with a triple double, putting up 42 points, 27 rebounds and 10 assists, leaving the crowd enraptured throughout the scintillating performance. Other players invited to the affair included LaMarcus Aldridge, Johnny Flynn, Jamal Crawford, Jeff Green (once a Thunder player before his 2010-11 mid-season trade to Boston), Rudy Gay, Amar’e Stoudemire and John Wall.

Of course, Melo, Stoudemire, and Paul were all on the Blue Team, giving Big Apple fans a taste of what it could be like to have their own Big Three (Paul will be a free agent after the 2012-13 season). The exhibition match ran like a Golden State Warriors vs. New York Knicks game—strictly offense with a small smattering of defense sprinkled in.

Players joked and dilly-dallied around for the first three quarters, but buckled down in the closing minutes when victory and subsequent bragging rights were on the line. After being sent into overtime, it would be James and Durant that would pull the White team away for the win.

With the players exhibiting so much energy in what was a glorified All-Star game, it’s clear that they’re ready to get back to business and play NBA basketball. But if the lockout drags on, we’ll be sure to see more invitationals in the near future.

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After yet another futile attempt by both the owners and players unions to come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement, the remainder of the NBA Preseason has been canceled, and, barring any miraculous agreement on Monday, the first two weeks of the regular season are next in line.

Following a four-hour meeting between the players and owners on Tuesday, commissioner David Stern and deputy commissioner Adam Silver took the stand to announce the bad news to the press.

“The formal position of the parties was the players at 53 [percent], us at 47,” said commissioner Stern in a televised press conference. “We asked the question of the players, ‘would each side entertain the notion of a 50-50 deal?’… While we were in the process of doing that [discussing] with our owners, we were asked to step out and we were advised by the players that that would not be acceptable to them; that they were at a higher number.”

“Today we’ll be announcing the cancellation of the rest of the exhibition season, and by Monday, we will have no choice but to cancel the first two weeks of the season.”

For those of you who don’t know the formalities of the ongoing NBA Lockout, the owners and players are waging war over who receives more of all basketball related income, as well as other minor issues. The players, who were once at a whopping 57 percent, came down to 53 percent, but refused to split the pot in half with the owners.

“We’re continuing to be open-minded about what a final deal will look like, but today was not the day to try and continue to close that type of gap,” said Derek Fisher, the president of the NBA player’s union. “It’s just not a place we feel we can go, but that doesn’t mean we’re not willing to negotiate. We’re not saying that negotiations are over, but in the forseeable future, obviously until another meeting is possibly canceled, we’re just not sure at this point.”

With the 2011-2012 NBA season looking more indefinite than ever, players are in a frenzy to head overseas and make money while staying in shape by playing basketball for foreign teams.

“The biggest thing is that I didn’t know how the lockout was going to turn out,” said Nuggets’ Forward Wilson Chandler, who recently signed a contract to play in China. “I just wanted to play so I can get a better game shape, a better game rhythm.”

And the list goes on and on, with players like Deron Williams, J.R. Smith, Kenyon Martin and Andrei Kirilenko, to name a few, heading overseas as well. There are even talks of the Black Mamba himself, Kobe Bryant, possibly entertaining a 10-game/$3 million contract from an unspecified Italian team.

The NBA is quickly losing its talent—the one thing that puts it a single notch over the increasingly convalescent international teams. With many players signing contracts without opt-out clauses, returning to the NBA won’t even be an option until they play their agreed amount of games overseas.

Commissioner Stern alluded to the fact that the owners had already lost $200 million in revenue by canceling preseason games. Unless the owners want to continue losing egregious amounts of money, an agreement in the very near future is imminent.

 
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This years NBA Final is giving fans not only incredibly entertaining play on the court, but countless underlying stories that have kept everyone talking, even on the off days.

Everybody knows that superstars run the NBA, and because of that, commissioner David Stern must have had a grin as wide as the Grand Canyon when the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks reached the finals.

I want to start by saying that Dwyane Wade deserves every bit as much recognition as LeBron James for bringing Miami this far. I most definitely do not wish to ignore his accomplishments because he has a solid argument to be just as talented as any other player in the world. The thing about Wade is that he has already been to the promised land. He has hardware on his side, and that can never be taken away from him no matter how many times he may lose from here on in.

Now that I’ve said that, we can move on to who we all know who the big story really revolves around here.

LeBron James has been criticized more than any other player in the league for not having a championship ring on his finger at this point in his career. He has upped his game to the point where he is unquestionably the best player in the NBA, and probably the world. At this point, the only thing he has to worry about, is his legacy moving forward. If LeBron really wants to go down as one of the absolute best, he’s going to need the hardware.

Dirk Nowitzki is at this moment considered by many to be the greatest international player ever to grace the NBA, not to mention the best shooting big man of all time. He has brought a style of play that nobody has ever seen in the history of this game, and as of late has proved to be impossible to guard at virtually any spot on the court. Unfortunately he, like LeBron, is missing the same thing that they have been chasing their entire careers.

These two probably could not be more different people if they tried, aside from the arc of their careers to this point. Although Dirk has been around the block a few more times than LeBron, they find themselves at a similar point in the eyes of the rest of the world. Both men have been to the finals one time, been unimpressive to say the least, and gone home with disappointment rather than future hall of fame votes. This is their second chance.

The term “on fire” does not even begin to describe the way each of them have been playing to this point in the playoffs, not to mention the impressive performances that have kept fans on the edge of their seats thus far in the finals.

Even their stats are similar. To this point Dirk has 28.1 points per game in the playoffs to LeBron’s 25.5 (but when we factor in how much more help LeBron has on the floor, the numbers seem to even themselves out). Rebounds? Dirk has 7.8 per game to LeBron’s 8.8. Even their shooting has been incredible with both men raining down countless outside shots and going on uncanny made free-throw streaks to lead their teams to victory.

This will surely prove to be a battle between these stars, and nothing should be taken away from either of them no matter the outcome of the series. Unfortunately the key word there is should, and the fans, or the media for that matter, doesn’t exactly abide by the same rules of respect that I do.

Nobody knows what will happen in the remaining games in the finals. In 2006 most everybody believed that Dirk and the Mavericks had the series wrapped up halfway through game 3, but some teams lay eggs and we just can’t see it coming. One thing is for absolute certain, the remaining games in the coming days just may decide a lot about how these two players are remembered.

Should Dallas lose, Dirk’s chance at a ring may be gone for good. He will be remembered as a great scorer and shooter who just could never get over the hump. In the spectrum of all-time players, he will be considered really good, but not great, somewhere many players would appreciate being, but somewhere a true champion never wants to end up.

Should Dallas win, in my opinion, Nowitzki will be knocking on the door of the hall of fame. A complete career, an MVP award, a ring, and the honor of being not only the best player ever from Germany, but probably ever as an international player in the NBA. Not matter what would happen after this year, he would go out the way he wanted to.

On the other hand, if the Heat were to lose, the media would have a field day. Worse than the Brett Favre retirement fiasco, worse than Tiger Woods’ scandal, we would hear about LeBron’s uncanny ability to lose the big game for an entire year before the next season started again.

That would make two times that it seemed “King James” would finally reach the promised land and come up short. His career is already complete aside from the championships, and since everybody knows he wants to the the absolute best, the rings are what he needs.

He is still incredibly young and has plenty more time, but this one would have a real toll on him and maybe the rest of his career. He is focused and ready now, and everyone is sensing that this is the time, no more excuses.

If they win, all the talk goes away. He would have it all. The rings, the MVP’s, the scoring titles, everything. He would already be considered one of the greatest, no matter how hated he may be around the country. The only thing left to do would be to build a trophy room and wait for more championships to roll in after having the confidence of the first. Comparisons to the great one’s would be everywhere. His dream would be achieved.

I for one, can not wait to see what happens. These last few games of the season is going to have an incredibly impact on how people view these two outstanding basketball players. Most people don’t realize it quite yet, but LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki really are playing with their legacies on the line.

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