Lakers upset with Chris Paul's trade to Clippers

The Lakers were hit with a two-by-four of bad news Wednesday, Chris Paul heading to the Clippers and Dwight Howard heading nowhere.

The Lakers were privately fuming Wednesday, according to a person with knowledge of their front office, when Paul, the New Orleans point guard, ended up in Los Angeles six days after the NBA vetoed the Lakers' trade for him.

Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak declined to comment through a spokesman but earlier this week said the NBA's blockade was "completely unexpected."

"We did the best we can to express our displeasure," Kupchak said Monday.

(...)

Putting Paul aside, Howard apparently won't be arriving in Los Angeles any time soon, as per a league official who said the Orlando Magic would no longer entertain offers for the All-Star center, who could become a free agent in July.

"They don't feel like there's any decision they have to make right now," the official said.

The Lakers were involved in trade talks with Orlando via Howard's agent for two weeks, but the price for Howard inevitably increased with Paul off the market.

The trade deadline isn't until March 15, and plenty can happen between now and then, though the Lakers will not trade Gasol and center Andrew Bynum to get Howard, according to a person familiar with the team's thinking.

Gasol wasn't so sure the Magic would stop taking offers for Howard.

"You don't know if they're just saying that," Gasol said. "They're probably saying that to get a better offer and then pull the trigger."

The Lakers and Howard ... to be continued later?

For now, the Lakers welcomed a new power forward and put another on the shelf for quite a while.

Derrick Caracter will miss at least four to six weeks after undergoing surgery Wednesday to remove torn cartilage from his left knee. Caracter, a reserve, sustained a non-contact injury Monday at practice.

Josh McRoberts took part in his first Lakers practice Wednesday, arriving a day after his agent texted him with simple words: "You're a Laker."

McRoberts was described by Gasol as scrappy and a hustler. He's also penciled in to start the season opener Dec. 25 against Chicago because Bynum must serve a five-game suspension and Gasol will slide over to center.