The Lakers thought they made a great move when they traded for Chris Paul earlier today.  The Lakeshow parted with Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol to get CP3.  If the trade would have went through, we were looking at the best back court of all time.  You can argue with me if you want but Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant, on paper, is the best guard combination ever.

David Stern stepped in and pulled the plug, quickly vetoing the deal.  I don’t understand this.  You are trying to make small market teams happy?  So if you don’t allow CP3 go to the Lakers… you can’t let him go to the Knicks, Bulls, Celtics or any other contender? I expect the deal to ultimately go through.  So now can the Magic not trade Dwight Howard?

If indeed the trade goes thru, Christmas came early for LA.  Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom are veteran guys whose effectiveness is declining.  Gasol looked awful in the playoffs last season as the Lakers were swept by the Mavs.

Andrew Bynum is the piece that they really needed to keep.  He’s only 24 years old and he is 7-0 280.  If he can stay healthy then it’s a great move. There is currently no other big man to play alongside Bynum besides Derrick Caracter, who is unproven as a pro but that doesn’t really bother me as I believe they could find some bodies to plug in at the power forward.  Chris Paul turned David West into an All-Star… I’m pretty sure he can make some scrubs look serviceable and Bynum look like a star.

I’m not sure what is going to happen with this but Laker Nation has to be crushed that this deal hasn’t been approved.  I was already expecting a better season out of Kobe Bryant than he had last year and adding Chris Paul would nearly guarantee the Lakers to be a championship caliber team this season.

*Update: Paul now claims he is suing the league and threatening to sit out the season……… Stern is wrong for this one.