NBA spikes Paul to Lakers deal

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- The NBA has killed a trade that would have sent Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets to the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-team deal with the Houston Rockets.

Yahoo! Sports and the Los Angeles Times reported the deal, which could not have been made official until the free-agent and trading period opens Friday. The report said New Orleans would send Paul to the Lakers and receive forward Lamar Odom from Los Angeles, while guards Kevin Martin and Goran Dragic, forward Luis Scola and a draft pick would go from Houston to New Orleans, and the Rockets will get forward Pau Gasol from the Lakers.

NBA spokesman Tim Frank said the NBA, which acquired the New Orleans franchise in 2010, "declined to make the trade for basketball reasons," the Times reported.

"WoW," Paul wrote on Twitter after hearing the news, the newspaper said.

Paul, a four-time all-star guard, is in the final year of his contract with the Hornets. His production dropped off last season with averages of 15.9 points and 9.8 assists per game.

He has played 425 games with New Orleans and has averaged 18.7 points during his career. A backcourt of Paul and Kobe Bryant would again make the Lakers one of the chief contenders for the league crown.

Gasol also has been a member of the all-star team four times. He came to the Lakers in 2008 from Memphis and became a part of back-to-back NBA championship teams.

Gasol averaged 18.8 points and 10.2 rebounds last season.