For a hundred reasons, I’d be surprised if any of us sees Dell around today or tomorrow if the reports of the NBA killing the proposed trade for Chris Paul to the Lakers are true, even if something he thinks is better replaces it, which is doubtful since he would have taken that deal to start, and now the NBA knows for sure that Chris Paul is for sale AND the asking price, and they can now bet on their shot in free agency or undercut that trading price now.
More than anyone else, Dell is the one most affected by this. Not me, not you, not Chris, not `the city’, etc. He spent all this time and effort trying to get a deal done that would benefit all parties enough to get it done while getting the Hornets a good haul.
Make no mistake, he did this to help Dell, too, but that’s how the game is played. Drew Brees throws that ball for the city AND for Drew, so I’m not casting stones here. I love it when they do themselves massive favors.
Like the deal or not, Dell should be allowed to do the job he was both hired to do and told he could do. If they told him on say one of this negotiating period that X is off-limits, at least the waste and publicity wouldn’t be out there.
This . . . this is irreparable. Even if the NBA allows it, the hand is played, yes? The teams will adjust. Other teams will move. The plates have shifted and Los Angeles has fallen off the map in tradetown . . . well, half of Los Angeles.
After a couple years of bickering and more than 5 months of lockout, they agree to the CBA while this trade is brewing, then complain about the VERY FIRST act that may be done using the tool they carved and handed to the GMs. Really? REALLY?
Fellow customers, support Dell. Do some twitter thing. Gather at the Alario Center or the Hornets offices on Poydras and just chant “Dell!” Maybe cheer him at the preseason game . . . what GM gets their name chanted at games? Call the Hornets 1,000 times at (504) 525 4667 and say “Dell Customer Support” or something. Do it people!
NBA, let the man succeed or fail as a man. That’s all anyone wants. A chance. Dude’s a workhorse and dude’s a gamer. He doesn’t deserve this.
We don’t deserve it . . . times 10,019, but this is that man’s life and his dream and his time and his team and his job and his vision and his work and his mission and his reputation and his honor.
Dell, you the man.
Do your thing.
You got a cappuccino coming.
73 responses to “Dell Customer Support”
Great post.
Tweets from folks like Jim Rome, Reggie Miller, Nate Silver are all attacking Stern’s high-handed action; and now Paul is putting legal action through the union — there is, after all, a new CBA — so there’s a chance Stern may allow the deal to go through tomorrow, saying he never vetoed the deal, just needed time check things out.
Great post. Let dell work!
Could not have said it better myself! Thanks for putting my same thoughts to words!
Well said.
Legally there’s nothing for Paul to do. If dirk wanted a trade, and Dallas’s GM put it together, Cuban could say no an it’d be End of story. Since it’s just a handshake deal and nothing has been papered, cp3 is out of luck.
I just wish cp would admit he wants to be in a major market. Stop this I just want to win junk. You want to win and be in a big market. Just say it and stop lying. You want the big city glamor (for those curious, Boston isn’t a big city).
“Legally there’s nothing for Paul to do. If dirk wanted a trade, and Dallas’s GM put it together, Cuban could say no an it’d be End of story. Since it’s just a handshake deal and nothing has been papered, cp3 is out of luck.”
This isn’t how it happened though. The reports are that the owners didn’t vote to veto the trade. They complained about it to Stern, and HE is the one who killed it. That’s a huge difference. The equivalent would be Dirk gets traded, Cuban is reluctant about it, then Stern drops the hammer
The owners are like a board of directors and stern is like the CEO. He can run the company, and if the board doesn’t like something the CEO did, they can throw him out or vote to undo what He did. Do a majority of owners disagree with stern? I doubt it. If anything the owners have standing, not cp. They’re the only ones who can step in. Cp can sue until he’s blue in the face.
I feel like Chris Paul and or one of the other owners has a legitimate legal argument I just can’t frame correctly. Chris Paul personally may have a restraint of trade argument against the league, but I think the fact that’s contractually obligated to the Hornets makes that tricky. On the other hand, Laker’s and Rocket’s owners can certainly sue David Stern for violating his fiduciary duty to them. Of course in order to prove this, complex litigation involving both business law and anti-trust law would be necessary and the point would be moot long before this ever went to court.
The league owns the Hornets. Stern runs the league. Chris Paul is under contract with the Hornets. He has no “right” to a trade. Teams can trade whomever they want, provided that the player’s contract doesn’t have a “no trade” clause.
Now, if he were a FA, and he signed with LA, and Stern said no…then there’s a problem. If the trade had been finalized and contracts signed, then Stern came in and said no, then you have a breach of contract claim. If the league, RUN BY STERN, didn’t own the Hornets, and the league said no to the trade, then there would be a problem.
Stern here is using his power as the person running the company that owns the team. If the league didn’t own the team, then this would never have happened.
I think you are missing my point entirely. I acknowledge Chris Paul has the weakest argument of the bunch. However, David Stern is like the CEO of a board of directors for the NBA as a whole. However, he made a big mistake by allowing every owner to have a financial interest in the Hornets. Because, by blocking this trade, he has effectively violated his duty of loyalty to the owners of the Rockets an Lakers. I’m not a corporate lawyer, but I remember enough from my Business Enterprise class to know Stern stands to lose a lot of he is sued by another owner.
Couldn’t wait to see what you and Ryan had to say. I spend my entire freaking day on twitter, hoopspeak, whatnot going “OMFG”.
This is an absolute crime that the deal is off. EVERYONE knew what was going on the whole time Dell was negotiating. Why did no one from the league tell him it’s not going to be approved? They have just shafted a small market team out of a great haul because they don’t want CP to go to LA. Who do they want us to trade him to, Milwuakee? What a joke. They have set us back.
I don’t get how you find this to be a good trade when the Lakers didn’t even part with their best trade asset (Bynum). They had more to give and we could’ve gotten more. I personally don’t want the perennial 35 win team that was being sent to us.
Great post & love the Title
so can we sign free agents ryan joe michael jason……..we need a pod cast to see where everything is or whats what….
Jason (or Joe) – I wonder if Hornet247 can help organize season-ticket holders in demanding a refund if team has to open season with an “I-want-to-be-traded” Chris Paul — in other words, if the team is being run for benefit of Mark Cuban & not the Hornet fans. I’ve been a season-ticket holder since pre-Katrina days, but I truly do not want to attend games where Paul is booed & we have a make-shift roster. Stern is taking real value away from Hornet fans and should allow unhappy fans to get a full refund. Thanks
We can’t hurt the team. We need something fun that will catch on.
#DellCustomerSupport? DSC?
You guys are smart . . . create!
Just saw the free dell one. . . Good
ReDEMPSion!
Go to the games? F this league. I was going to be in, now I’m so far f’ng out I may as well be in L.A. This is bull$h!t. Now were screwed. No trade, and COMPLETELY screws what little chances we had in free agency to begin with. Who the hell will sign w a team w a disgruntled star pg, 6 players on the roster and the inability to make a GD trade!!! This corrupt league that I’ve supported for so long has broken me. I’m out.
The league has to reconsider its decision. Dell has spent countless hours on this deal, training camps begin tomorrow, he’s got 5 signed players, probably hasn’t given a second thought to his other FAs, and he’s got to start all over from scratch. He needs more than just a cappuccino at this point…
Last time I talked to Dell was in a coffeeshop uptown. Random.
It was a disguised shoutout.
What I’m seeing is the Hornets would have had to renounce their rights to their FAs in order to make this deal work. Even if this deal is dead, they had only a very slight chance of resigning West or Landry. But I can imagine Marco, who reportedly is in town, may have already told his agent to look elsewhere if he was informed of that prior to the trade announcement.
Blah. Don’t like stern. Don’t like his ‘veto’ power. Hated the trade more… Unless he was going to trade all those new players for defense and/or picks! Thats what monty is trying to build this team on and odom is the only compitant defender of the bunch. I say demps recovers AND benefits from it.
Heres to praying for a deron williams type of deal…
Odom is also the most likely to be traded out of the bunch..
Take it to twitter. #FreeDellDemps
Rumor was ariza and odom to Philly for iguodala
So we have a team of 6 guards (all offensive minded but only two with ability to score), scula, and an undersized center?? Disgusting.
The leauge for once had the balls to say that want competitive balance too little too late.We coudn’t say that with Lebron because he was a free agent too bad the Cavs didn’t have the front office like the Hornets to make a trade during the 2009-10 season.In reality the leauge want fair value in a trade for example the NBA woulda accept the Paul for Rondo deal or Paul for Curry deal.Despite the Celtics wouuld had to wait til next season to get Howard but then again Howard hates cold climates and he woulda been in warm climates like L.A,Phoenix,Dallas or Houston.As of right now don’t hit the panic button they’ll be deal an fair one NBA approve lol.
Anyone think this will affect the recently stabilized labor situation?
Strike?
This is exactly what the players bought for $300m a year: the freedom to move, to have a market.
If they didn’t get that . . .
And then . . . was it planned? Either the strike and get crushed, or they take it and get crushed.
I’m always skeptical, though.
Cleveland Cavs owner Dan Gilbert was the main culprit in persuading David Stern to stop the CP3 trade. Here is the letter Dan Gilbert wrote to David Stern via email;
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ys-nba_dan_gilbert_email_lakers_hornets_trade_120811
More From Yahoo! Sports Staff
Dec 8, 2011
The following is the email in its entirety:
Commissioner,
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.
Over the next three seasons this deal would save the Lakers approximately $20 million in salaries and approximately $21 million in luxury taxes. That $21 million goes to non-taxpaying teams and to fund revenue sharing.
I cannot remember ever seeing a trade where a team got by far the best player in the trade and saved over $40 million in the process. And it doesn’t appear that they would give up any draft picks, which might allow to later make a trade for Dwight Howard. (They would also get a large trade exception that would help them improve their team and/or eventually trade for Howard.) When the Lakers got Pau Gasol (at the time considered an extremely lopsided trade) they took on tens of millions in additional salary and luxury tax and they gave up a number of prospects (one in Marc Gasol who may become a max-salary player).
I just don’t see how we can allow this trade to happen.
I know the vast majority of owners feel the same way that I do.
When will we just change the name of 25 of the 30 teams to the Washington Generals?
L_REAZY
Key phrase, “….the 29 owners of the Hornets.”
I rest my case!
The Hornets are screwed!!!
Our opponents do call ‘our’ shots!!!
Who would want to be apart of an organization like the Hornets?
L_REAZY
Now Our team is just messed now. Now that Dell Demps have attempted to trade CP3. I know he don’t want to be on our team now. Man I think if we can’t trade CP3 CP3 won’t play to his full potential. in fact he probably won’t play right at all!
If this deal would’ve went down we could’ve have Kevin Martin who averages 23.5 PPG, 1.0 spg, 6-7, 32.5 MPG Luis Scola who Averages 18.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG, and 0.6 BPG, and Gragic 7.5ppg. we could’ve sign Big Baby, and maybe Jamal Crawford. this could’ve been on a quick path to rebuilding.
To solve this whole problem we need a billionaire w/a lot of money. If we had an owner this crap wouldn’t never happened!!!
Sorry but this trade was a bad move.
It would only allow the hornet to compete for the last spot for the playoff with players in their primes aka the worst situation if you want to build a contender.
So I support Dell but not this trade.
Agree 100% unless Dell already had some other deals lined up, which woulda been sweet.
And I think that’s the point everyone’s missing here. Think back to all the moves Dell made last season in a short period of time to rebuild this team.
Dell had a plan, and I’ll bet he already had trades lined up for some of these guys to get what he really wants. So you can’t just look at this one trade on the surface and say this would be a middle of the pack, 7-8 seed team. We can’t see the whole picture.
He’s had months to plan this whole thing out. Now he’s got to start from scratch again.
Wouldnt he have told Stern the master plan though? Apparently the master plan still wasnt good enough to Stern for him to nix the trade.
If this deal had gone through, we’re a what 45 win team at best. Always feisty, make the playoffs and lose nobly in the first round to a contender. Like the CP3-Kobe Lakers.
Then what? The trade nets no youth and no guys who are going to be getting any better or younger. 45 wins is the best a Jack-martin-ariza-west-scola team will ever be. What do you do afterwards? Sure it’s the quickest, short-term way to stay winning, but you’re never winning a title with that group of guys.
You’re never going to get top dollar for a guy like CP3. Esp now that everyone knows what you have in your hand. However, you can still pick deals that feature YOUTH and PICKS. That’s how you rebuild and win in the NBA as a small market team. Not constructing an overpriced collection of mediocre vets that will keep you a perennial 35-40 win squad. That’s purgatory. Never good enough to contend but not bad enough to land in the lottery either. And sorry, but no big time free agents will choose NOLA as things stand currently with the team.
So then what? The trade’s long term effects are awful. Do you really want to become Milwaukee Bucks South or Houston Rockets East (last couple of seasons’ Houston..)
Trade CP3 for youth + picks (See: celts deal, LAC deal even w/out gordon), suck terribly this season (and thankfully its only 66 games)… and make good, shrewd choices in the draft.
my 2 cents anyhow.
Strongly agree! Support demps but the trade was worthless. Fans talk about winning a championship but that will NEVER happen with
1. Old above average players who can’t play defense
2. The lakers having a dominant team plus tons of money to make more moves for howard or dwest or whomever they want
We need youth and picks!!!
This trade would work good for the hornets
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=d9hzq9k Post trade to ESPN
I’ve written a 3 email series , to the league offices about the hornets as an exercise in arbitration and it’s psychological effects on me (fan base ).
@Sam the NBA will block that trade faster than the republicans on a jobs bill.
I had trade but it wouldn’t work with the Hornets,Thunder and Warriors
The Hornets get Westbrook,Udoh and Klay Thompson
The Thunder get Curry and David Lee
The Warriors get CP3 and Kendrick Perkins
First…I still didn’t know for sure WHAT the real trade was.
It was all twitter Bul#@%t.
I now do not exactly know what happened here. NBA, Stern…whatever…I am going to wait this out today to get the real facts.
Both the trade and supposed halt are all still rumors.
The exception here is legal and real….the NBA owns the Hornets!!!!
So just like EVERY GM has to get the owner’s approval of a trade, the other owners have the very same right here.
Understandably, this is a very complex situation, BUT the Hornets had been financially in trouble AND were taken over by the league.
The other owners NOW OWN the Hornets.
Sitcky, yes.
Legal, yes.
Phil Jackson and others were right long ago to express their concerns with the NBA ownership.
But OK, what about the city itself? The fans have no real bitch now. They had theit team saved and are now in this situation…a bad one.
But it is all still a sort of event that is taking on its own life, all starting with the downfall of the team’s finances. THAT started this.
The Hornets started this!
And now we are all caught watching an ugly tragedy unfold and many people, LIKE Stern, are trying to manage it LIVE, in real time.
Very few here can understand the work and horribly complicated discussions takinplace right now.
Lawyers shouting into your ear.
Owners shouting into your ear.
Fans shouting…players shouting….
PULEEEZE!
Stern…do yourself a favor and join me in retirement.
Doesn’t this nixed deal point to the Hornets be contracted by the NBA. I don’t mean as in a conspiracy theory but literally. If the NBA forces us to keep CP3 and we can’t find the right trade for Paul he’ll walk next year in FA. It all depends on who else we get this year but it just seems like we’ll have a team the NBA can just blow up. It may be a lil outlandish but that’s where my mind went…maybe that says more about me but still it’s something to think about.
I’ve not posted here in a while, I’ve had some pretty bad health issues. The only thing that’s been keeping me going the past few months was the prospect of a new season, be it with CP3 or without. I’ve put up with a lot from this franchise (and the league) over the last 20 years – multiple relocations, perennial mediocrity, a propensity to trade away every good player we have – but this is the last straw. If the league’s going to treat us like this, I don’t need it. I wish Dell & the team nothing but good luck for the future (they’ll need it), but I’m out.
As an NBA fan, as a Hornets fan, I’m done.
but get better…take care of Yourself!
Nothing is this important, it is just entertainment for us.
Hopefully you can overcome the illness.
I agree and probably the best offer we were gonna get. and now no one wants to deal with us cause they think all the “owners” are gonna step in and deny it too
Yes come to kc next year! With or without cp3
Going to be tough with a new lease. Too bad. I can tell you deserve it.
I look at it in this angle the NBA owners want us to rebulid next season because we will have a new owner(s) by then. We can still pile up some players around CP3 for this season to convince him to stay with new ownership on the horizon.I doubt that part of CP3 staying here long term but whoever the Hornets get Westbrook or within a trade next season we’ll be an well oiled machine.
Just hope Demp try something with the Celtics.
Think about it:
Clippers get Rondo
Celtics get CP3
Hornets get Bledsoe/Aminu/Green + 3 draft picks (2 from boston and the minny’s pick)
I can’t see a better deal and it makes sense for everybody !
Clippers would have a serviceable and young PG to play with Griffin without losing Gordon, Boston would have a chance to have Paul for trying their last shot to the title and hornets would have a pretty damn good re-building plan for years to come !
I’ve a trade that makes sense Celtics,Pacers.Hornets
Hornets get Danny Granger,Brandon Rush,Darren Collinson,Tyler Hasbrough (Pacers) and Jermaine O’Neal Celtics 2013 & 14 frist rd picks (Celtics)
Pacers get Rondo,Ariza and Okafor
Celtics get CP3
Rockets,Celtics and Hornets
Hornets get Scola,Kevin Martin and Kyle Lowry (Rockets) Jermaine O’Neal 2013 & 14 frist rd picks (Celtics)
Rockets get Okafor & Rondo
Celtics get CP3
Dell gonna trade Chris Paul to the Zhejiang Golden Bulls for JR Smith just to spite CP and Stern.
I meant Green because the trade machine doesn’t have him on there you know the hornets not going to take O’Neal get real
Read David Stern’s response to stopping the trade yesterday;
http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/217219/Stern_Paul_Staying_Put_More_Valuable_Than_Proposed_Trade
David Stern, presumably speaking in his role as an owner of the Hornets and not commissioner, commented on the proposed trade sending Chris Paul to the Lakers that was vetoed by the NBA on Thursday.
“The decision was taken that Chris Paul in New Orleans was more valuable than the trade that was being discussed,” Stern said.
“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,” Stern said.
However, when asked about other trades, Stern said, “I’ll leave that to the team as the discussion goes on,” perhaps indicating that the NBA is in fact willing to sign off on a trade for Paul that meets the league’s desire to receive sufficient return for Paul.
… So, in essence, Chris Paul is being used to sell the team.
So, while Chris Paul’s wishes to be traded are considered to be “self-serving” by the league … shouldn’t their action be considered the same?
This whole things sucks, because no one has even considered the Hornets in all of this, really from a competitive standpoint.
Dan Gilbert doesn’t care about his so-called family small market teams. He’s more concerned with being paid tax money from the big market teams than actually building a winner.
David Stern is more concerned with the bottom dollar too … not competition!
However, Chris Paul would be willing to lose 40 Million Dollars to play somewhere else that he prefers.
Who is more selfish right now?
Chris Paul won’t play one game for the Hornets this season, with or without the team now that he has the lawsuit in affect.
QUESTION: Are the Hornets more valuable with CP3 refusing to play?
ANOTHER QUESTION: Can the Hornets trade Chris Paul later if they, and other teams fill-up there rosters before 12/25/11?
L_REAZY
The worst thing you can do in the NBA is to be a team that just continues to miss the playoffs. This is what this trade gives us. We have no leadership, and in this shorten season no chemistry. We will barely miss the playoffs gain a completely irrelevent draft thats deep with really good players, but still little if no difference makers. This trade IMO was a mistake by Demps.
With all that said this is completely disrespectful towards Demps. The league has open itself up to legal trouble and a terrible PR hit. No way we can keep Paul now. This is bad for the NBA, Paul, and the Lakers.
This trade is not good for the Hornets. It doesn’t matter that the players coming back are good they have very little trade value trust me on that for the people that think you can just flip them for value. They are all either old (Odom and Scola), one dimensional (Martin), or over-paid (Odom, Martin, and Scola) and some a combination of those things (Martin, Odom, Scola). A bunch of above average vets in exchange for Chris Paul this smacks of the trade the 76ers made back in the day when they traded Charles Barkley for Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry, and Jeff Malone three solid veterans. The Sixers were mediocre to awful for years. You can’t trade Paul and not get some youth with upside back. Why all this panic? Other deals at least as good as this will get offered. Now that it sounds like Howard is going to New Jersey you might be able to get the Lakers to offer Bynum. Whats the rush here teams have been able to make trades for a couple of days? This is ridiculous all the gnashing of teeth and wailing.
It appears the NBA owners are pushing Stern to make CP3 put his money where his mouth is and play out the season then opt out and walk as free agent if he’s willing to leave all that money on the table. I am curious to see how this plays out but it doesn’t look good for us. Let’s see what Demps pulls off, but it appears trading CP3 will not be allowed.
Here’s an audio link from Mark Cuban explaining his take…
http://espn.go.com/espnradio/dallas/play?id=7335556
The Hornets are not appealing the trade it’s officially dead
I didn’t like the trade at first, but I will be furious at the league if we can not get anything out of this deal. I get what they are trying to do by making the hornets more viable for a new owner to want to buy the team with a legit superstar on the roster, but any new owner will know that chris will not resign and having the rug pulled out from underneath him can not help the matter at all.
Chris Broussard – “Marcus Thornton signed with Sac Kings for $40 million over five years”
not sure we were going to match that if he was on this team, giving us that right.
Jason, im partially kinda new here and i dont know where to direct this question so ill just ask it here.
Do you know if the hornets are close to finding a new owner? A timetable if possible?
Next 60-100 days was the quote from the press conference yesterday. You can hear Hugh say it on the QA video on the blog page.
The trade talks are back on please get Kyle Lowry in this trade
If the Hornets get Lowry in the trade then sign Nick Young or Aarron Affalo at SG but if we end up with Martin we get Rodney Stuckey at PG.
Goodbye CP3 6 great years despite he didn’t had the balls to admit that you didn’t want to play here and it took ESPN,Leon Rose and his daddy to talk for him.He’s the Todd Marinovich of basketball but with talent but no balls to man up and thats a shame.
Kc hornets sounds good.