New Orleans will also receive the Knicks’ first-round draft pick in 2012 from the Rockets

A three-team deal sending Paul from cheap moncler jackets to Los Angeles was completed in principle Thursday night, according to a team executive involved in the talks. The Lakers will send Lamar Odom to New Orleans and Pau Gasol to the Houston Rockets, who in turn will send Kevin Martin, Luis Scola and Goran Dragic to the Hornets.

New Orleans will also receive the Knicks’ first-round draft pick in 2012 from the Rockets, who acquired it in a previous trade.

The trade came together just as Commissioner David Stern was announcing the ratification of a new labor agreement that was intended to promote parity and boost the league’s small-market teams. But nothing in that agreement can prevent veteran stars from exercising their considerable leverage, as Paul did.

Paul can become a free agent next summer, and it was well known that he wanted to play in one of the league’s glamour markets, New York or Los Angeles. Rather than lose Paul for nothing, the Hornets moved to trade him quickly.

For the Lakers, the trade re-energizes an aging lineup that was swept by the Mavericks in the 2011 playoffs after winning back-to-back titles. Paul will join Kobe Bryant to form the N.B.A.’s most lethal backcourt, and will eventually replace him as the face of the franchise.

Paul, just 26 years old, has been elected an All-Star four times in his first six seasons, averaging 18.8 points and 9.9 assists for the Hornets. He was the fourth overall pick in the 2005 draft and is widely regarded — along with Deron Williams — as one of the N.B.A.’s top two point guards.

The parameters of the deal were first revealed by Sports Illustrated early Thursday. The deal’s completion and final details were first reported Yahoo Sports.

None of the teams could comment Thursday because the league was still technically in a moratorium period while it adopted the new labor agreement. The trade can become official after the league reopens for business at 2 p.m. Friday. Despite a league edict that banned even handshake dealsMoncler Women Vest,cheap moncler women vest,moncler vest for women sale. a number of teams and players agreed to terms.

Tyson Chandler, who helped the Dallas Mavericks win the championship last June, is nearing a deal to join the Knicks, according to two people involved in the talks. Caron Butler, his teammate, plans to sign with the Clippers, according to multiple reports.

Shane Battier, one of the league’s top defenders, announced on Twitter that he would sign with the Miami Heat. Mike Dunleavy Jr. reached an agreement with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Tayshaun Prince, one of the last remaining pieces of Detroit’s 2004 championship team, will re-sign with the Pistons. Greg Oden, the injury-plagued Portland center, will accept a one-year qualifying offer to stay with the Trail Blazers.

The Mavericks will have lost two key free agents, while a third, J. J. Barea, continues to play the market. Dallas is believed to be protecting salary-cap space for next summer, when Williams and Dwight Howard could be available.

Paul had hoped to force a trade to New York, to join his close friend Carmelo Anthony, but the Knicks did not have the assets to make a deal with the Hornets.

The Hornets play in one of the league’s smallest markets and have struggled financially for years. The franchise is currently owned by the league, which bought out the previous owner, George Shinn, for a reported $300 million last year. Shinn, frustrated with efforts to sell the team to a local buyer, chose to sell it to the league rather than continuing subsidizing the losses.

Now the Hornets, a playoff team in three of the last four years, are starting overly competitively. Martin, 28, is one of the league’s best scoring guards, and the 31-year-old Scola is a skilled and rugged power forward. The versatile Odom, 32, was a key member of the Lakers’ championship teams in 2009 and 2010.
Cheap moncler jackets,moncler jackets for men,moncler jackets for women on sale save up to 60% off. They could form the nucleus of a solid playoff team, or be flipped in future trades.