New Chris Paul-to-Lakers Trade Submitted to NBA For Approval

Now that the madness of late Thursday  afternoon has finally cleared, the Lakers, Hornets and Rockets are back at work, trying to make a new deal that’d send Chris Paul to L.A. SI has the report: “The possible trade sending New Orleans point guard Chris Paul to the Lakers that was declined by the NBA on Thursday was officially revived two days later, when multiple outlets reported a proposal involving Houston had been submitted to the league official for approval. A source told SI.com that the possible deal was “mostly the same” as before, when Lakers forward Lamar Odom, Rockets guard Kevin Martin, forward Luis Scola, guard Goran Dragic and a first-round draft pick from Houston were headed to the Hornets. Lakers forward Pau Gasol was set to join the Rockets and L.A. would receive Paul. Hornets general manager Dell Demps, according to sources, had been told by the league to focus on acquiring either younger players (Martin is 29, Scola is 31, and Odom is 32) or more draft picks in order to help the Hornets build for the future. A source said the Lakers might have given up a first-round draft pick in the deal as well, but the details were not immediately available. ESPN.com first reported the trade proposal had been re-submitted to the league office. Representatives from the three teams have communicated since the NBA vetoed the proposal Thursday night and understand the need to sweeten the deal for New Orleans, either through additional players or future draft considerations.’