"The call from New Orleans came late in the afternoon Sunday, just after Clippers general manager Neil Olshey had finished attending his wife's Christmas party. In the previous two weeks, he'd slept more than four hours in a night only a handful of times.

Most days since the NBA reopened for business, calls from West Coast executives and agents were coming in until midnight. By 5 a.m., his phone was ringing again as the East Coast woke up and started its business. The four or five hours in between were reserved for sleeping, eating, showering and shaving. Oh yes, and thinking about everything that had gone on the past 20 hours.

He was tired and sleep-deprived, but also exhilarated in a way. Adrenaline had long since taken over by the time the Hornets called with a trade package for Chris Paul that would satisfy the NBA executives who'd scuttled a deal between the Lakers and Hornets, first for the laughably vague "basketball reasons," and then supposedly because the league felt it should get younger, less expensive players and draft picks in return for Paul."