The Lakers still want Chris Paul and the Hornets still want to trade the point guard before his impending free agency creates a circus. Oh yes, and the Rockets still want to get the deal done, too.
The three-way trade that would send Paul to Los Angeles is not completely dead, according to a report, despite NBA commissioner David Stern's veto of the deal on Thursday. Those two teams plus Houston, which would have received Lakers forward Pau Gasol and valuable salary cap space to spend on free-agent forward Nene in the original deal, submitted a revised proposal to the league on Saturday, multiple outlets report.
"While the Lakers are eager to add Paul, the Rockets have been aggressively trying to close the deal," SI's Sam Amick reports. "Acquiring Gasol would not only give them an offensive force on the post, but trading [Luis] Scola and [Kevin] Martin would free up the cap space for Houston to offer free-agent center Nene a four-year deal between $14 million and $16 million per season."
It is unclear what other pieces are involved in the revised proposal, but an extra draft pick from the Lakers might be included.
