Common Addresses His Song 'Sweet' & Drake Taking Offense To It On 106 & Park "If You Wanna Get In The Ring, We Just Gotta Get In The Ring" [Video]

Video After The Jump

Drake has taken offense to a song that appears on Common's new album The Dreamer/The Believer. On the track "Sweet" Common addresses rappers who sing too much on their records.

"Some hoes ass niggas, Singing all around me man. La la la, you aint muthaf*cking Frank Sinatra, Uh, lil b*tch, yeah, this the raw right here. Yeah this the raw right here n*gga. Sweet muthafuckas, sweet ass b*tch muthaf*cka."

Drake heard the track and wasn't too happy about it. He told the crowd at Power 106FM’s Cali Christmas that just because he sings doesn't make him soft.

“I will never stop doing this for ya’ll. I don’t give a f*ck if you have something to say to me. Say it to my muthaf*ckin’ face. Just cause I sing don’t make me no b*tch.”

During Common's appearance on 106 & Park yesterday (December 19) he spoke about the song and said if the shoe fits, wear it.

"I'll say this, it's a lot of artists out there that sing. And I don't think there's anything the matter with singing, but I just feel like I wanted to stand up for hip hop to a certain extent and hear cats rhyming and hear some hip hop elements," Common told Rocsi and Terrence J. "So what I really was addressing was all those cats that are out there singing and if certain people feel offended by it then they fit in that category. But I always want them to know that it's just hip hop. And in hip hop you challenge people. What I said in Sweet, [Drake] must have felt like he was one of the people being addressed. So he decided to say what he had to say. I say we can keep it on a hip hop level. I think he's a talented artist. But I'm saying if you wanna get in the ring, we just gotta get in the ring. And I'm talking about on the mic."

Well Damn! Kobe Bryant's Wife Vanessa Files For Divorce. Tired Of The NBA Star Cheating On Her. No Prenup, She'll Get Half Of Everything

Kobe Bryant's beautiful wife, Vanessa Bryant, has filed for divorce citing "irreconcilable differences" according to TMZ.

"She's been dealing with these incidents for a long time and has been a faithful wife, but she's finally had enough," says a source. "This one is the straw that broke the camel's back."

Bryant saved his marriage in 2003 when he was accused of raping a Colorado hotel employee. That case was settled out of court when Bryant reached a financial settlement with the woman. Bryant promptly bought his wife a $4 million dollar ring in an effort to save his marriage. It worked that time, but apparently Vanessa has had enough.

The couple don't have a prenuptial agreement, meaning the the 29-year old Vanessa is about to get half of Bryant's large financial fortune.

Vanessa is being represented by Laura Wasser and attorney Samantha Klein. She is seeking joint custody of the couples two children, 8-year-old Natalia and 5-year-old Giana.

Vanessa is also seeking spousal support which Bryant has already agreed to pay.

According to the report, Bryant desperately wants to save his marriage, but at this point it's not looking good for the Los Angeles Laker.


Vanessa filed her divorce petition on December 1. Kobe signed his response on December 7.


The soon to be ex-couple released a joint statement saying they have privately resolved all issues.

Kanye West & Kim Kardashian Reportedly Get Cozy At L.A. 'Watch The Throne' After Party. "Kanye Was Eating Kim Up Like She Was A Piece Of Cake"

The ink may barely be dry on her divorce papers, but Kim Kardashian might already be moving on.

It hasn't quite been two months since Kim ended her 72-day marriage to NBA player Kris Humphries, and there are already rumors things could be heating up with Kanye West.

The New York Daily News is reporting that Kim and Kanye attended a "Watch The Throne" after party thrown by billionaire Ron Burkle. The two were seen getting very cozy according to sources.

"Kanye was eating Kim up like she was a piece of cake,” says the source. “He was all over her — caressing her head, touching her waist. I think he was dying to kiss her, but there were too many people in the room,”

The Louis Vuitton Don has been known to play the field. He's been spotted everywhere from Paris to Philadelphia with different beautiful women. Could Kim K be next to get chopped down?

Last month on the Wendy Williams show, Yeezy's ex, Amber Rose, hinted that he's hooked up with Kim before.

"I mean, Come on, like, you know," she told Wendy laughing. "Come on! We'll keep it cute."

While at the after party Kanye seemed to only be interested in Kim.

“He wouldn’t talk to anybody else,” the source said. Adding that Kim didn't mind the attention, “She was totally into it.”


At one point Kanye and Kim got up and went outside, although nobody knows for sure if they left together.


Kim did tweet that she had a good time.

Plies and his brother Big Gates found civilly liable for 2006 shootings

Video And Pictures After The Jump

BAGHDAD — Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta paid solemn tribute on Thursday to an “independent, free and sovereign Iraq” and declared the official end to the Iraq war, formally wrapping up the U.S. military’s mission in the country after almost nine years.

“After a lot of blood spilled by Iraqis and Americans, the mission of an Iraq that could govern and secure itself has become real,” Panetta said at a ceremony held under tight security at Baghdad’s international airport. “To be sure, the cost was high — in blood and treasure for the United States, and for the Iraqi people. Those lives were not lost in vain.”

The 1:15 p.m. ceremony (5:15 a.m. in Washington) effectively ended the war two weeks earlier than was necessary under the terms of the security agreement signed by the U.S. and Iraqi governments in 2008, which stipulated that the troops must be gone by Dec. 31.

But commanders decided there was no need to keep troops in Iraq through the Christmas holidays given that talks on maintaining a U.S. presence beyond the deadline had failed. The date of the final ceremony had been kept secret for weeks, so as not to give insurgents or militias an opportunity to stage attacks.

Dignitaries and a small crowd of military personnel in fatigues gathered at a terminal in the Baghdad airport, which until now had been operated by the U.S. military. In the future, it will be overseen by the State Department, which is assuming responsibility for a massive, $6 billion civilian effort to sustain American influence in Iraq beyond the troops’ departure.

The white flag of United States Force-Iraq was carefully folded and put away, and Panetta took the podium.

“No words, no ceremony can provide full tribute to the sacrifices which have brought this day to pass,” the defense secretary said. “I’m reminded of what President Lincoln said in Gettysburg, about a different war, in a different time. His words echo through the years as we pay tribute to the fallen in this war: ‘The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.’ ”

In his speech, Panetta singled out U.S. Ambassador James Jeffrey and Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, for overseeing the rapid withdrawal of 50,000 troops in recent months and the closure of dozens of bases.

But he paid special tribute to the more than 1 million U.S. troops who have served war duty in Iraq since 2003, including about 4,487 who were killed and some 30,000 who were wounded.

“You have done everything your nation has asked you to do and more,” he said. “You came to this ‘Land Between the Rivers’ again and again and again.You did not know whether you’d return to your loved ones.

“You will leave with great pride, lasting pride, secure in knowing that your sacrifice has helped the Iraqi people begin a new chapter in history free from tyranny and full of hope for prosperity and peace.”

Panetta also paid homage to military families who, “through deployment after deployment after deployment ... withstood the strain, the sacrifice and the heartbreak of watching their loved ones go off to war.”

“Together with the Iraqi people,” he added, “the United States welcomes the next stage in U.S.-Iraqi relations.”


And with that, the U.S. military’s mission was declared over, eight years, eight months and 25 days after it began.

Panetta arrived in Baghdad after a two-day stop to visit troops in Afghanistan. He was making his first visit to Iraq since becoming defense secretary in July, although he also visited the country during his tenure as CIA director and prior to that as a member of the Iraq Study Group, an advisory panel of foreign policy veterans that sought to change the Bush administration’s approach to the war.

In recent days, during visits to Djibouti and Afghanistan, Panetta refrained from declaring victory in Iraq or “mission accomplished,” as the Bush administration did prematurely in 2003. Instead, he has acknowledged divisions and regrets among U.S. lawmakers and the American people in general, while trying to frame Iraq’s future in a guarded sense of optimism.

“In many ways I think we can all take some satisfaction — regardless of whether you are for or against how we got into Iraq, the fact is we can take some satisfaction in the fact that we are now heading them in the right direction,” Panetta told an audience of U.S. diplomats Wednesday at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

In the end, Panetta described the purpose of the war as an attempt to turn Iraq into a stable, self-governing democracy after decades of dictatorship under Saddam Hussein. During his trip to Afghanistan, he did not name Hussein directly and made no mention of the failed search for weapons of mass destruction, which the Bush administration had cited as justification for the 2003 invasion.

“It’s a mission whose goal was to establish an Iraq that could govern and secure itself,” Panetta said Wednesday. “And we have done that. We are giving Iraq an opportunity to be able to govern itself and to secure itself into the future, and to enjoy, hopefully, the benefits of a democracy.”

“It won’t be easy. There will be challenges. They’ll face the challenges of terrorism. They’ll face the challenges of those that would want to divide that country. They’ll face the challenges, the test of democracy,” he said. “They have the opportunity to be able to do that. And because of the blood that was spilled by Americans, because of the blood that was spilled by Iraqis, they now have that chance.”

Many Iraqis still find it hard to believe that the U.S. troops are actually leaving, after a war in which more than 100,000 Iraqi lives were lost and more than $800 billion was spent by U.S. taxpayers on the military effort and reconstruction. At the war’s peak in 2007, there were 170,000 U.S soldiers in Iraq, although that number had dwindled to 50,000 over the past year.

The withdrawal will have little immediate impact on the lives of most Iraqis. U.S. troops pulled out of the cities in 2009 and halted combat operations a year later. For more than a year, they have been training the Iraqi security forces on military bases, largely out of public sight, although Special Forces have continued to conduct counterterrorism operations.

Many Iraqis were unaware that the departure was imminent, although in recent days, the domestic press has been speculating that it might take place sooner than anticipated.

On Wednesday, thousands of people in the mostly Sunni town of Fallujah, where Marines fought the biggest battle of the war in 2004, took to the streets to celebrate. They burned American and Israeli flags, and carried a banner declaring Fallujah to be “the city of resistance.”

Some residents, nevertheless, expressed misgivings, even as they said they were glad to see the Americans go. Bashar al-Nadeq, 32, said he could not help but be happy because he spent two years in the Camp Bucca prison camp after a cousin to whom he owed money told the U.S. military that he was a terrorist.

But he fears simmering sectarian tensions could erupt in violence once again, and he does not plan to celebrate.

“What’s the point of lighting a candle at the beginning of a tunnel when you know you will be walking in darkness?” he said at his car wash, near the center of the battle-scarred town. “I am happy they are going, but I know my happiness won’t last for long.”

Plies Found Civilly Liable In 2006 Club Shooting That Left 5 People Wounded. Ordered To Pay $200,000 [Videos]

Video After The Jump

Rapper Plies has been ordered to pay a group of five men $200,000 total after a jury found him civilly liable for a 2006 club shooting that left them injured.

The victims were hit by bullets after a fight broke out between members of Plies' camp and another rapper at a Gainesville, Florida nightclub.

During the criminal trial, Plies pleaded no contest to illegal possession of a concealed weapon that was found after the shootings. Plies avoided jail time and was sentenced to probation while his brother, Ronell "Big Gates" Levatte served three years in prison for his role in the incident.

The civil lawsuit against Plies, real name Algernod Lanier Washington, was filed in April 2008.

According to the rapper's lawyer, the victims in the case were offered nearly four times the amount they were awarded to settle the case out of court, but they turned down the offer.

The plaintiff's attorney Chad Roberts told Gainesville.com back in March 2010 that he feared the shooting would only bolster Plies' street credibility.

"The irony is that when you criminally prosecute (gangsta rappers) their stock goes up," he said. "It's hard to punish them. The only way to punish is them is to hold the record company accountable."

During the trial Plies took the stand where he revealed a background much different than one you would expect from a gangsta rapper.

Plies told the jury he was his high school's homecoming king, best dressed student and received a full scholarship to Miami of Ohio University to play football.

The jury deliberated for nearly two days before deciding the rapper and his brother should pay the victims for their pain and suffering, but the total dollar amount didn't come close to the $10 million they were seeking.

Plies take stand during civil trial

Plies and his brother Big Gates found civilly liable for 2006 shootings

Teen Seen In Viral Video Being Whipped By His Uncle For Online Gang Activity Found Shot Dead In New Orleans [Video]

Video After The Jump

A 16-year old Louisiana teen who was seen by millions of online viewers being whipped by his uncle because of online gang activity was found murdered in New Orleans last week.

Michael Taylor had been posting messages on his Facebook page earlier this year when his uncle found out about it. To make an example out of the youth, the uncle made a video of himself whipping the teen with a belt, while telling him to admit to the camera that the gang ties he had been bragging about were fake.

"Y'all parents all these senseless f*cking crimes... all this gangbang sh*t. This my f*cking nephew right here," the uncle says in the video, pointing at Michael. "He aint no gangbanger, we don't come from that sh*t."

"All that's fake," Michael said, before his uncle whipped him.

When the video hit the internet in January 2011 most people applauded the uncle for his actions. As it turns out the video did nothing to prevent Michael from meeting a tragic fate.

BlackAmericaWeb.com is reporting that the teen's mom had been keeping close tabs on him, making him stay within eyesight whenever he went outside. On the night he was killed he received a text message and went outside to talk. Not too long afterwards his mother, Kimberly Ward, said her daughter received a text message saying Michael had been shot and killed.

"I came home and saw my son on the ground," Ward said.

Police say they have no suspects or motives in the December 7th shooting, but witnesses said they saw two men approach Michael and open fire, hitting him multiple times in the torso.


Stacey Patton, who runs the website SpareTheKids.com said she wasn't surprised to hear about Michael's murder after seeing the video of him being whipped.

"I am not surprised to hear that this young man's life has ended violently. When I saw the video, I kept thinking that by beating this youth, the uncle was setting him up for some kind of tragedy, either prison or an early grave," she said. "I don’t understand why more people don't make the connection between how children are dealt with at home and the larger societal impact. Studies show that maltreated youth make up a disproportionate number of youth involved in school and gang violence. Violent parental discipline increases the risk that a child will act violently later in life. The use of violent discipline teaches children that violence is an appropriate means of shaping behavior and solving problems. Physically disciplining a child has no positive impact for the child, that child's relationship with the parents, or the larger community."

Interscope Releases 50 Cent's Single Cover for 'Girls Go Wild' - 50 Cent Addresses It

Interscope via Amazon just released 50 Cent's single cover for his new song feat Jeremih, "Girls Go Wild," but the rapper already addressed the situation.


"Man interscope put out the single art saying its coming out on the 31st but its not coming out. I'm not putting my album out till we are all on the same page," explains 50 Cent via his Twitter account.
He also just added:

Girl Gets Drake's Name Tattooed On Her Forehead. "I Feel Bad That This Dumb*ss Got The Name Of The Softest Motherf*cker In Hip Hop Tattooed On Her Forehead" Says Tat Artist Kevin Campbell [Pics]

More Pics After The Jump

A Drake fan has guaranteed her spot in the history books by committing one of the dumbest acts ever to show her love for the Young Money rapper. The woman walked into a Los Angeles tattoo shop and demanded Drake's name be tattooed in bold letters across her forehead.

Tattoo artist Kevin Campbell of Will Rise gave the young woman exactly what she asked for. Now she has the rest of her life to think about it.

Vice.com caught up with Campbell to find out how the idea of the tat came about and why he did the artwork.

VICE: Hi Kevin, so who took the picture?
Kevin: Norm, my boss. It sucks because the photo makes the tattoo look all crooked and janky, but it's actually pretty well-applied and straight as an arrow. The other before, during, and after photos taken by my co-worker are better. But when Norm took the now famous picture, one of her shaved eyebrows was tensed up a bit, making the "A" in "DRAKE" look like dogsh*t. Her eyebrows were shaved when she came into the shop, by the way. Her head was shaved too.

How did you react when she told you what she wanted done?
The funny thing is, I didn't know who Drake was. I figured it was her hood or some sh*t, not some goofnugget R&B dude.

Did she talk about what it meant to her? Had she been planning it for a long time or was she kind of just like, "put it on my forehead" and that’s it?
Yeah, she was really psyched about it. She had the sh*tty font all picked out on her iPhone ready to go and was pretty adamant about putting it on her forehead. She didn't say a word about what it meant to her. Some of the guys at the shop asked her, and she just kinda giggled at them. When I printed up the first image of the lettering, she wanted me to go bigger, so that it went pretty much from each side of her hairline to the other. I thought she shaved her eyebrows for the procedure, so when I put the stencil on the first time, it was right over her (missing) eyebrows, but she had me enlarge it a bit and push it up towards the hairline. But yeah, she acted as if she had planned it out for a while, but I'm not really sure how much extended coherent thought could actually go into getting such a stupid tattoo on your forehead.

Wow. Do you feel sort of bad about it after the fact?
My whole deal with people wanting completely outrageous and potentially life-ruining tattoos is this: I'll ask them three times if they really think it's a good idea, I tell them what the potential consequences of getting a tattoo on their face might be, and after that, the bad decision is on them. I believe that people get the tattoos that they deserve. The shop where I worked prior to Will Rise was in the center of the Harbor City Crip neighborhood, so I'm not really a stranger to tattooing gang sh*t on faces, which is what I originally thought that this was. I guess I feel bad that this dumb*ss got the name of the softest motherf*cker in hip-hop tattooed on her forehead. But what makes that any less valid of a tattoo to her? I lost a little sleep over it that first night, wondering if I wanted to be known as the a**hole who tattooed "DRAKE" on some crackhead's forehead. None of the face tattoos I had done prior to this got any publicity, so I was a little surprised that this one took off like it did. I'm still kinda debating whether or not I should send you guys the whole set of pictures, I don't really want to paint the shop in a bad light, but it is what it is. In the end, she paid me to do this to her, which really means she did this to herself.

So you see it as your job to give people what they ask for?
There is a way of steering the customer in a direction that would make their whole tattoo idea something that would look better on their skin when the concept they have in their mind sounds good to them but wouldn't translate well into a tattoo. This usually comes up when they come in asking for something like a tattoo of a rose but with 20 names and dates hidden in the petals or something. When it's something as simple as lettering, I could have tried to steer her into a prettier font maybe, or a different location (obviously), but she was already set on this letterman jacket-style font.

But as far as having a choice, yeah, sure, I could have turned her away, and I'm already getting a ton of flack from other tattooers for this, but the way I see it, if she's got her little heart set on getting her forehead tattooed then she'll just keep on trying until somebody finally goes through with it. I think that getting a color portrait of the Joker from Batman is a dumb idea, but who the f*ck am I to judge? If some cat from MS 13 comes in and wants me to "blast" that sh*t on his chin or forehead or whatever, who am I to judge the validity of them getting what they get and where they get it?  If I tattoo a huge "BK" on a Crip or tattoo "DRAKE" on some R&B-crazed girl's face, what's the difference? Who am I to say which one is wrong and which is right?

Are you surprised at how quickly the photo spread?
Honestly, I didn't think this thing would get so much exposure. I'm still kinda debating whether or not it's a great idea to have my name attached to this sh*t more than it already is. Seeing as how I haven't really established too much of a name for myself, I don't particularly want this one tattoo to represent my whole body of work. It’s not something I’d want to write home to mom about, if you know what I mean. I've actually done some way crazier facial tattoos recently, but was really careful not to blast the sh*t all over the internet. There are so many kids walking up and down Fairfax with ridiculous facial tattoos that I didn't think too much about it before I did it. Plus, the whole shaved eyebrow thing usually means you just got put on to your neighborhood or whatever, so I figured she was just some crazy shermed-out cholla who was "down for her calle" or whatever.

In my opinion this whole world's going to sh*t, and sh*t rolls downhill, so I might as well just jump in, hold my breath, and pray to God that there's a nice big soft puddle of diarrhea for me to land in once everything hits the fan.

I wonder what was going through her mind when she decided to do it.
Man, I wish I could get you in touch with her. I'm sure the story's pretty intense. Sadly, she didn't leave a number on her consent form, just her name. But she is supposed to be coming back to finish the tattoo once it heals (she only had enough money for the outline) and I could probably talk to her then. She was on a pretty good one when she came in, but I think by the time I finished she was coming down, because her attitude changed pretty drastically once the tattoo was finished.

Former Death Row Records V.P. John Atterberry Dies From Gunshot Wounds Suffered After Madman, Tyler Brehm Goes On Shooting Rampage In Hollywood [Video]

Videos After The Jump

Record executive John Atterberry died Monday (December 12) three days after suffering gunshot wounds when a deranged man went on a shooting rampage in Hollywood, California.

Atterberry, 40, was walking out of a Bank of America at Sunset Blvd and Vine when 26-year old Tyler Brehm walked up to him and shot him in the face and chest. Brehm then walked into the middle of the street and started shooting indiscriminately at cars passing by.

Brehm was shot dead by two plainclothes police officers shortly after shooting Atterberry, who was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles where he clung to life for 72 hours before passing away Monday.

 
John Atterberry (2nd left) with Gavin Rossdale (3rd left), Gwen Stefani (center) and Diddy (second right)


Atterberry was Vice President of Death Row Records during the time the label was home to Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Tha Dogg Pound. He later went on to work with artists like Michael Jackson, Christina Aguilera, the Spice Girls and Brandy.

Atterberry and Shaquille O'Neal

Atterberry's sister Cynthia left a message on her younger brother's Facebook page mourning his loss.

Today I lost my JOHN, my baby, my guardian angel, my protector, my little brother at 3:00 p.m.
"I do not understand now nor will I ever is why such a senseless act of violence was inflicted upon such a GOD-fearing, kind, compassionate, loving individual," she wrote.

Police still aren't sure what sparked the shooting's, but did say Brehm had recently broken up with his girlfriend.

 News coverage of John Atterberry's death

News coverage of deadly shooting rampage

Gunman Tyler Brehm killed by police

 Gunman Tyler Brehm killed by police

Jermaine Dupri Sued For $80,000 Over Repossessed Lamborghini

Not only did Jermaine Dupri's Lamborghini Murcielago get repossessed recently, he is now being sued by the company that financed the purchase.

According to TMZ, Premier Financial Services sued Dupri in Georgia Superior Court, claiming he still owes them a difference of $79,095 for the vehicle after they repoed it and sold it off at auction for $115,000.

Dupri originally financed the $330,000 car in 2006. He put down $70,000 up front and agreed to make 58 monthly payments of $4,323, but stopped paying in 2009.

Dupri is well known throughout the music industry for founding So So Def Records and guiding the early careers of Kris Kross, Lil Bow Wow and Da Brat.

MEN IN BLACK 3 - Official Trailer

There goes the 1st official trailer for Men In Black 3

9 years after Men in Black 2, agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) are back at it!

In Theaters 5/25/12

After the break.

Introducing Feel Rich...A Look at Rappers Journey to Stay Healthy [Video Inside]

Introducing Feel Rich powered by QD3

Forty-time platinum, multi-Grammy and Emmy Award winning producer, and digital guru Quincy Jones III (QD3) has turned his attention to a new creative pursuit: the creation of a health and fitness culture born from the urban and hip-hop community's love and respect for the music, movement, and entertainment that defines us. FeelRich.com is the cornerstone of this new culture, promoting fitness and healthy living as the way to take your life to the next level. You can get anywhere you want to go. Having a healthy body will get you there.

Feel Rich isn't just another health service. It's an attitude and a movement. It's health on your terms, fitness in your style, and food choices that make sense on the streets where you live. It's a health program that knows where you come from, and lets you decide where you want to go.

Is This The End Of The Line For Batman? Check Out New 'Dark Knight Rises' Poster

Whether it's just good for publicity or a prelude of things to come, Warner Bros is making it look like Bane will be the end of Batman. In the new poster released Saturday (December 10) Bane is seen walking away from a destroyed Batman mask.

Director Christopher Nolan and actor Christian Bale have said that Dark Knight Rises is the last Batman movie for them. So if this is the end of the line it's going to be pretty exciting to watch.

This Dude Is Full Of It: David Stern Issues Statement Trying To Explain Why He Blocked Trade That Would Have Sent Chris Paul To The Lakers [Video]

The NBA is trying to put a positive spin on it's decision to block a trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Here's a recap of the bizarre events that went down yesterday (December 8).

The Lakers, Houston Rockets and New Orleans Hornets agreed to a three team deal that would have sent Paul to the Lakers. The terms of the trade would have sent Pau Gasol of the Lakers to Houston, who would have sent Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Goran Dragic plus a 1st and 2nd round pick to the Hornets. The Lakers would also have sent Lamar Odom to the Hornets.

Chris Paul

The trade would have been a huge windfall for the Hornets who stand to get nothing at the end of the year if they are unable to move Paul, whose contract is expiring.

The Lakers would have gotten another all-star to play alongside Kobe Bryant, and the Rockets would have gotten the big man in Gasol they have coveted since losing Yao Ming to foot injuries.

Pau Gasol

Everybody should have been happy, but according to various sources other team owners objected to the trade because they didn't want Paul and Kobe on the same team.

Yahoo Sports obtained an email that was sent by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert to NBA Commissioner David Stern, urging that the trade be voted on by the owners.

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?

Please advise….

Dan G.

Three hours after the trade was agreed upon the NBA killed it, saying it was in the best interest of the Hornets who are owned by the league.

Today Stern issued the following statement:

“Since the NBA purchased the New Orleans Hornets, final responsibility for significant management decisions lies with the Commissioner's Office in consultation with team chairman Jac Sperling. All decisions are made on the basis of what is in the best interests of the Hornets. In the case of the trade proposal that was made to the Hornets for Chris Paul, we decided, free from the influence of other NBA owners, that the team was better served with Chris in a Hornets uniform than by the outcome of the terms of that trade.” - David Stern

This whole things smells of collusion between other NBA owners and Stern to make sure the Lakers don't end up with Paul. The argument that the blocked deal was in the best interest of the Hornets is bogus. They would have come away with three starters and draft picks for a player that won't be there next year no matter what.


Paul is now threatening to sue the league for blocking the trade. The NBA Player's Association is also threatening to get involved if Stern doesn't reverse his decision.


What's your take on this whole mess?