Two summers ago, David Stern, the commissioner of the NBA vetoed a trade that would have sent Chris Paul, a member of the New Orleans Hornets and a multiple time all star, to the Los Angeles Lakers.

In the history of the NBA, no trade has ever been vetoed directly by the commissioner and this is significant because it meant the NBA players were free to go wherever they wanted to play. Stern’s reason for vetoing the trade was as he explained it for “basketball reasons” but the truth was the League was trying to sell the Hornets, a club owned by the NBA and if they traded away Chris Paul, the club would lose tremendous value making it more difficult to sell and appeal to potential buyers.

As a longtime and die hard fan of the Lakers, news that one of the best players in the NBA were coming to your team and then to be vetoed felt like an axe to the head. Was it ethical for Stern to flex his powers and veto the trade?