Teams Plan to Appeal David Stern Blocking Chris Paul Trade

The teams involved in the Chris Paul blockbuster nixed by David Stern will appeal the decision, according to a report.

A proposed three-team deal that would have sent Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers, Pau Gasol to the Houston Rockets, and a collection of players, including Luis Scola, to the New Orleans Hornets was nixed because Stern thought the deal would hurt the value of the Hornets franchise.

The NBA has control over the Hornets after it purchased the team from George Shinn in 2010. The purchase of the team was split amongst the 29 other league owners, which resulted in some owners becoming angry about a NBA-owned team trading Paul to an already strong Lakers team.

A NBA spokesman initially said the deal was stopped for basketball reasons, but Stern confirmed to Bloomberg that the lack of a superstar such as Paul could deter buyers from purchasing the franchise.

The decision was taken that Chris Paul in New Orleans was more valuable than the trade that was being discussed, David Stern told Bloomberg. I don't want to speak on the basketball side, but that particular one was weighed against Chris Paul's continued presence in New Orleans.''

The blocked three-way trade means that Paul will likely stay with the Hornets throughout the season, despite telling the organization that he will not sign a long-term extension.

With this trade the Hornets would have received Scola, Kevin Martin, Lamar Odom, Goran Dragic, and a 2012 first-round pick, but if Paul leaves via free agency, as expected, the Hornets could be left empty-handed.

Yahoo Sports reported Thursday night that Hornets general manager Dell Demps is disconsolate over the nixed deal and had to be talked out of resigning after Stern blocked the trade. According to multiple reports, many NBA executives felt that Demps got a good deal for Paul, but the situation was decided by someone above him.

The blocking of the deal means that Demps likely has his hands tied, as it'd be hard to rationalize a block to the Lakers, but allowing the Hornets to deal Paul to another team. It's unclear how successful the appeal price will be, though it looks doubtful after Stern's comments to Bloomberg.