Former Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak just relived what was possibly the worst day in Lakers history from a fan perspective.
During an interview on Sirius XM NBA radio, Kupchak recalled what it was like when the blockbuster trade that landed Chris Paul with the Lakers was nixed by then-commissioner David Stern, per Noah Coslov, host of the radio show.
From Mitch Kupchak with @SiriusXMNBA on the Chris Paul-Lakers trade: "From a GM's point of view, the deal was done. Pau and Odom were never the same after that. Lamar was distraught and he requested a trade within 24 hours. It was a bad day."
— Noah Coslov (@NoahCoslov) December 14, 2017
After the deal was blocked, everything fell apart for the Lakers, possibly leading to the current rut they are in right now. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom were informed that they had been traded, only to find out hours later that they weren't.
Gasol dealt with it and stayed with the team for another few years, but neither he nor Odom were ever the same as Kupchak said. It was as if he felt he was betrayed by the organization.
Kupchak did manage to somewhat salvage the nixed trade by getting Steve Nash and Dwight Howard, but that did not end up panning out either. Since Howard left, the Lakers have missed on practically every available free agent.
That event is one that Lakers fans don't like to discuss or remember, mainly because if the team had gotten Paul, the entire trajectory of the last few years would be completely different. Maybe that means more championships.
Unfortunately, there's no way to know for sure what would have happened.
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