Nets' Deron Williams: 'David Stern Is A Bully'
NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) -- It seems almost everyone has given their take on last week's rejected trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers.
Add Nets point guard Deron Williams to the list.
"You're fighting a bully, man. David Stern is a bully," Williams said of the NBA commissioner on Sunday. "You can't really go up against him, man."
The Hornets, on their part, seem motivated to deal. The NBA, as their owners, killed the first attempt Thursday, a three-team trade that would have landed Paul in Los Angeles.
"He knows he's a bully, ain't no secret," said Williams. "I think everybody knows that."
Hornets general manager Dell Demps said his team will keep trying to make a deal, since Paul has told them he won't sign a contract extension this season.
"That's just a tough situation for him," said Williams. "It's just a bad situation for everybody, all the guys involved in the trade thinking they're gone and having to go back to their teams."
Meanwhile, multiple reports state the Los Angeles Clippers are close on a deal for Paul.
Dwight Howard, Paul and Williams were expected to lead the 2012 free agency class. Instead, two of them could soon be on the block, giving the NBA an immediate jolt to its post-lockout return.
"I'm like everybody else. I'm adapting to all this nonsense," Celtics forward Kevin Garnett said. "I think this whole league is in a bunch of uncertainty at this point and I fall in line with that. A lot of players don't know what it is."
Howard has formally requested a trade from the Orlando Magic, general manager Otis Smith said Saturday.
It's unknown if the Magic will grant their All-Star center's wishes, but they have given New Jersey, Dallas and the Los Angeles Lakers permission to talk with his agent about trades.
"It makes me smile a bit," said Williams.
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