The New Orleans Pelicans issued a statement defending general manager Dell Demps after former NBA commissioner David Stern criticized him in a Sports Illustrated story.
Stern, who served as commissioner from 1984-2006, called Demps a "lousy general manager" when discussing his veto of a trade that could have sent Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2011.
After Stern vetoed the Lakers deal, he worked with Demps to facilitate Paul's eventual trade to the Clippers.
"[Demps] had agreed to [trade Paul to the Lakers for] Kevin Martin and Luis Scola or something, and I said we can do better than that," Stern told Sports Illustrated.