Imagine how he must feel. "Numerous sources close to the process expressed skepticism that the deal has a chance of being revived, amid a growing sense the league is now determined to keep Paul in New Orleans for an unspecified length of time -- perhaps even for the entire season -- to support the notion that lockout wasn't for naught and that the new labor deal has improved small-market teams' ability to retain star players.The problem there, of course, is that the Hornets -- thinking they had avoided the drama that engulfed the At a news conference, before word of the blocked deal had spread, Stern was asked if the pending Paul deal to the Lakers was a signal that the new labor pact was already failing on the issue of improving competitive balance. I don't know what I'm supposed to do.

"Pau came to the Lakers and played here for four years, went to the Finals and lost, won two NBA championships and then got swept [by the Mavericks this year].

"I'm happy that people are back to talking about basketball," Stern said. In the aftermath of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers, a previously denied deal is being given a rebirth. "And then it doesn't go through," Odom said.

Chris Paul, who spearheaded OKC’s charge on Wednesday, is back in the Lakers’ rumor mill as a blockbuster trade involving a bunch of L.A.’s starters is projected to be in the works. Chris Paul, who spearheaded OKC’s charge on Wednesday, is back in the Lakers’ rumor mill as a blockbuster trade involving a … Sources close to the situation said Demps and teams that have pursued Paul had been assured the Hornets had the clearance to trade Paul as they saw fit.Said Odom via his Twitter feed: "When a team trades u and it doesn't go down? "But I doubt it. "I don't know what to do for the Lakers," Odom told the Los Angeles Times. The trade details have been revealed in the Russell Westbrook trade that sent Chris Paul to Oklahoma City. "The deal was never discussed at the Board of Governors meeting and the league office declined to make the trade for basketball reasons. UPDATE (9:27 p.m. Chris Paul Lakers Trade

"Oh, lord. The final final say.

""Imagine how Pau feels," Odom told the Times. The proposed trade would have sent Paul to the Lakers, Pau Gasol to the Rockets and furnished New Orleans with three top-flight NBA players in … "In Paul's case, sources told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith that the angry All-Star will not be reporting to Hornets camp on Friday and will instead explore his legal options with NBA Players Association executive director Billy Hunter, while maintaining the stance the deal is merely "on hold" as opposed to squashed.The Los Angeles Times, meanwhile, reported that Odom also intends to skip the first day of Lakers camp, while the Rockets were said to be crestfallen after missing out on Gasol, who was targeted to fill the void created by "Maybe I'll see you there tomorrow [at practice]," Odom told the Times in a telephone interview.

"Odom said the league's action left him disoriented. But we're relying on the management -- Jac Sperling, Dell Demps, Hugh Weber -- we're relying on the management of that team to make decisions that are in the best interest of that franchise.

"I'm even weirded out by the league doing what they did. The Lakers would receive Paul.

Now what? Here is the complete breakdown of the trade as it is currently structured:There will also be draft picks exchanged in the final proposal, but those will be finalized when the transactions can officially be made beginning Friday at 2 p.m. ET.This is clearly a winning trade for the Lakers, as the team was able to retain incumbent center Andrew Bynum, and can now turn around and dangle him in a potential trade package headlined by The Lakers will boast one of the more intimidating starting units in the league with Paul and For New Orleans, the team will be looking to rebuild around a legitimate scorer in Martin, and the arrival of Scola will give the Hornets a tough front line when paired with Emeka Okafor.Houston has been desperate to upgrade in the size department for several seasons, and Gasol gives the Rockets exactly that.There's no doubt that this deal will shift the chances of the Lakers returning to the top of the Western Conference once again, and this is a group that will look awfully different than they have in previous seasons when the action tips off on Christmas Day.Full round-by-round predictions with seeding decided Chicago announces firing of HC after going 39-84 over his two seasonsHanding out honors for MVP, DPOY, and Best Newcomer/Surprise on every team "Man, I'm just in total disbelief about all of this," Odom added.

The Hornets had increased their season ticket base from just over 6,000 last season to 10,019 as of Thursday afternoon.Paul was drafted No. "They don't want my services, for whatever reason. He's been an All-Star in the West for the past four seasons and also was a member of the United States' Olympic gold medal-winning team in Beijing in 2008. I don't know what I'm going to do.

"The proposed trade would have sent Paul to the Lakers, But Stern stepped in to nix the swap and leave all three teams with several shell-shocked players and officials heading into Friday's scheduled start of training camps, after the commissioner insisted for months that Hornets general manager Dell Demps and the rest of the team's front office had autonomy over basketball decisions. Click here for the latest details. But we'll see how it plays out.