Calm in the Houston Rockets camp after the Chris Paul trade mess – NBA Update
After the three way deal in involving the New Orleans Hornets, Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets was nixed by a certain David Stern, Lamar Odom, the Lakers forward, who was supposed to go to the Hornets, was so incensed that he requested for an immediate trade.
He got his wish and was sent to the Dallas Mavericks.
His departure has made ace shooting guard Kobe Bryant very unhappy and although Pau Gasol is still mum on the issue so far, there have been rumours that he is not impressed by the treatment doled out to him. In short, the Lakers are in shambles at the moment and the failed trade has seemingly switched on a self destruction mode.
The situation at the Houston Rockets, a sufferer of the same proportion, is however quite, if not entirely different.
According to the deal, Rockets forward Luis Scola, ace guard Kevin Martin and Goran Drajic were Hornets bound in exchange for the Lakers big Pau Gasol. The first two players were part of the Rockets foundation last year and after the deal fell apart, it was feared that the disgruntled players might not want to stay put or play with the same intensity at the least.
However, to the pleasant surprise of the Rockets fans and the management, the duo didn’t show much reaction and expressed their commitment to the franchise;
Luis Scola was the easier going among the two;
"They had a trade that they believed was good for the team, and they tried to do it," Scola said. "That's nothing to blame them for. And I'm happy to stay here."
Martin, who started 80 games for the franchise last season and scored at an average of 23.4 points per game, was a little less subtle;
"Daryl (Morey) showed his cards, and you've just got to put your teammates first and nothing else after that," he said. "I'm just worried about my teammates. I'm out here with them, and that's it."
The developments however have made things much tougher for the new head coach of the franchise, Kevin McHale. Staring from the scratch is never easy and the failed trade was the last thing he would have wanted. However, he was all praise for the professional attitude displayed by the players involved and termed this as a good omen for the future of the team;
"In this league, if you don't have any character, you don't have any toughness, you aren't winning anything significant," McHale said. "Those guys showed they had that."
All he will be hoping now is that both Scola and Martin can now channel their professionalism onto the court.
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