The Front Row with Tim Dahlberg December 12, 2011

The last time David Stern caused so much outrage around the NBA he was busy handing down a new dress code to keep players from looking like gangsta rappers.

The similarities don't end there. Despite his protestations otherwise, Stern's decision to veto the Chris Paul trade to the Los Angeles Lakers was as much about image as his decision six years ago to outlaw baggy pants and hats worn sideways.

With the ink barely dry on the new pact with players, Stern really didn't have much choice. Owners of smaller market teams didn't go through a 149-day lockout only to find it was business as usual when business finally resumed.

That they weren't entirely happy with what they got out of the lockout was evident enough. Having their faces rubbed in it with the trade of a superstar on the first day the contract was signed would have been downright insulting.

Unfortunately for Stern, the result of his veto was a comical farce that left players in limbo on three different teams. It also drew a harsh reaction from fans and members of the media, some of whom portrayed Stern as a grumpy old dictator trying to hold on to his power and prestige.

You don't run a league for 27 years, though, without being able to navigate the politics of power. And the cheers that Stern got from smaller market teams in the wake of the veto were the payoff he was after when he blocked the deal that would have made the already good Lakers even better.

"I'm one who likes to see the market and teams that have invested in a player and helped develop a player have an opportunity to have that player be a long-time part of that community," Utah Jazz president Randy Rigby said. "As a small-market team, it's very important. ... We had a lot of years of success with certain players named John Stockton, Karl Malone, who invested and committed to a community. That community committed back, and we saw a lot of success together."

Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg@ap.org or http://twitter.com/timdahlberg