It's hard to tell what's really going on with Chris Paul(notes) right now. The words coming out of his mouth say he's OK with staying in New Orleans and playing for the Hornets. But the words coming out of his camp say the exact opposite — namely that he wants a trade to a contending team. There's no way anyone can really know which is true, because if Paul were to publicly request a trade he'd be fined. All we can really know is that he has a very well-manicured line beard, which is obviously true.

That being said, if another team were hoping to inquire about acquiring the All-Star point guard, they're going to have to be mighty careful. As ESPN's Marc Stein has learned, the NBA has issued a leaguewide memo specifically warning about tampering with CP3.

The NBA unexpectedly issued a memorandum to its teams to remind them about the league's tampering regulations and specifically to warn them against illegal contact with Chris Paul, ESPN.com has learned.

The memo, circulated Tuesday by the league office, states that "no team should be having communications with Chris Paul or his agent or representative about a potential trade for Paul that have not been authorized in advance by the New Orleans Hornets."

The memo, sources said, also threatens to punish any such communications with penalties that range from "suspension of the offending person, prohibition of the offending team from hiring the person being tampered with, forfeiture of draft picks and individual and/or team fines of up to $5 million."

David Stern is not messing around, you guys. If an NBA team wants Chris Paul, it's going to be on the Hornets to work a deal. This back-channel, cloak-and-dagger nonsense isn't going to fly. We can't be having all kinds of superstars just joining up with each other all willy-nilly like a bunch of high school friends choosing to be in the same chemistry group. Super cool, top-notch analogy, for sure.

And while it's good that the league would try to prevent Paul's team of agents and high-powered friends from pulling off a trade, this is a no-win situation. Yeah, the memo's out there, but — as ProBasketballTalk's John Krolik points out — there's really no way to enforce this. Basically, you can't stop LeBron James(notes) from Tweeting about his friend, and fining a general manager for saying they'd love to have Paul on their team is silly and ineffective. That'd be like punishing someone for saying they love cereal, because, no duh, everyone loves cereal. It's just stating the obvious. Two-for-two on great analogies so far.

Nonetheless, that the NBA would go so far as to specifically mention a player lends some credence to the Paul trade rumors. After all, you don't need to warn against something that hasn't been considered. That'd be like someone telling you that the next sentence will contain a perfect metaphor. You know it won't, so there's no reason to warn you. A perfect three-for-three. No applause, please.

Each weekday morning, BDL serves up a handful of NBA-related stories to digest with your nectar surprise.

Jason Quick, The Oregonian: "At the urging of Rudy Fernandez(notes) and his agent, the Trail Blazers have engaged in accelerated trade discussions to deal the disgruntled, once-popular shooting guard to one of three Eastern Conference teams. Boston, Chicago and New York are all in the running to land the 6-foot-6 Spaniard, who set an NBA rookie record two seasons ago by making 159 three-pointers. Fernandez, 25, is unhappy in Portland because of limited playing time behind All-Star Brandon Roy(notes) and because of the playing style of coach Nate McMillan, who primarily used Fernandez as an outside shooter, not the playmaker Fernandez believes he can be in the NBA. Fernandez has two years remaining on his contract, which will pay him $1.25 million next season. The Blazers acquired Fernandez, along with James Jones(notes), from Phoenix for cash considerations on draft night 2007. Fernandez signed with Portland in July 2008, ending his seven-year career in the Spanish ACB League."

Phil Miller, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: "Jonny Flynn got an early start Tuesday on an ugly Timberwolves tradition: second-year injuries to first-round picks. Flynn underwent surgery to repair a tear in the labrum of his left hip, an injury that almost certainly will keep him out of training camp and could cost him the first month of the 2010-11 season as well. That makes him the fifth consecutive Wolves' first-rounder to be sidelined by major injury in his second season. Flynn was hampered by his sore hip in the final few weeks of his rookie season, and even sat out the finale after starting the Wolves' first 81 games. The injury also kept him from taking part in the Vegas Summer League, and he finally decided to have the hip surgically repaired. Dr. Marc Philippon, a specialist at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colo., stitched up the labrum, which is cartilage that stabilizes the joint, and shaved down part of the hip bone that had been hindering Flynn's movement. The procedure typically requires three to four months of recovery, which means Flynn could be expected to return in early November or December. Flynn's absence could present an opportunity for former Wolves point guard Sebastian Telfair(notes), who was re-acquired in a trade with Cleveland on Monday, or intensify the franchise's search for another veteran point guard to play behind recently signed free agent Luke Ridnour(notes)."

Baxter Holmes, Los Angeles Times: "[Lakers GM Mitch] Kupchak said he remains 'optimistic' about re-signing Shannon Brown(notes) and that he expects a resolution in negotiations in the next seven to 10 days.... Kupchak had no updates on Bryant's injured right index finger or the arthroscopic surgery to Bryant's right knee, which was performed by a medical staff outside of the team."

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Shavlik Randolph, the only veteran to play on the Miami Heat's summer-league team earlier this month, Tuesday became the second member of that squad to receive a contract. Randolph, who had two brief stints with the Heat this past season, is the 14th player under contract for 2010-11, but unlike the previous 13 players signed, did not receive a fully guaranteed contract. Teams are allowed to carry as many as 20 players in the offseason, but must cut to 15 by opening night. Teams can dress 12 players on game nights. Randolph is the fourth power forward under contract, joining Toronto Raptors free agent Chris Bosh(notes), Portland Trail Blazers free agent Juwan Howard(notes) and returning Heat free agent Udonis Haslem(notes)."

Paul Coro, Arizona Republic: "Louis Amundson made a lot of friends. His popularity in Phoenix over the past two seasons prompted nearly as much local interest in his free-agency future but he said it still appears that won't keep him in Phoenix. 'It's too bad Phoenix didn't value me enough to keep me around,' Amundson said. 'I felt like it was a great situation and I gave everything I have. It's a business and I'm trying to have a thick skin. I was always concerned (about the chances). Knowing they signed Hakim Warrick(notes) and Channing for that much money ($30 million over five years), that was not a good sign.' Amundson said Charlotte, Golden State and Toronto have shown interest in signing him. His hopes of landing in Denver, near his Boulder, Colo., roots, fizzled once the Nuggets signed Al Harrington(notes). 'We're talking pretty seriously with a lot of teams,' said Amundson's agent, Mark Bartelstein, who represents another free-agent big man (Mark Blount(notes)) that has the Suns' interest. 'He's the best big on the market.'"

Nick Friedell, ESPN: "The Chicago Bulls have expressed an interest in free agent guard Eddie House(notes), according to House's agent Mark Bartelstein. The Bulls also have talked to representatives of Keith Bogans(notes) and Roger Mason(notes), according to a person familiar with the situation. The Bulls are one of several teams pursuing House, a veteran guard who would be able to play both backcourt positions and give the Bulls more depth behind Derrick Rose(notes) and new acquisition C.J. Watson(notes), whom they acquired from the Golden State Warriors in a sign-and-trade last week. House, 32, spent the past three seasons with the Boston Celtics before being dealt at last year's trade deadline to the New York Knicks for Nate Robinson(notes)."

San Francisco Chronicle: "The Warriors lost backup point guard C.J. Watson in a sign-and-trade deal with the Bulls, but now they've signed free agent Jannero Pargo(notes), who averaged 5.5 points in 13.2 minutes per game as a backup for Chicago last season, according to reports on several websites. Pargo, 30, a seven-year veteran out of Arkansas, agreed to a $2.4 million, two-year deal, his agent told ESPN.com. The 6-foot-1 Pargo has averaged 6.6 points, 2.0 assists and 1.5 rebounds playing for the Lakers, Bulls, Hornets and Raptors. He and new Warrior Jeremy Lin(notes) will be competing for playing time behind starting point guard Stephen Curry(notes)."

AP: "The Memphis Grizzlies say rookie guard Greivis Vasquez(notes) underwent surgery on his right ankle to remove a bone spur. The team said in a news release Tuesday night that the surgery was successful and he is expected to return for training camp in late September."

The NBA offseason is crazy long, and even longer if your favorite team doesn't make the playoffs. With all that time and money on their hands, NBA players are always looking for silly ways to drop a couple thousand dollars here and there.

Chris Kaman(notes) understands all that. He plays for the Clippers, so his season is done around January of every year. And with a contract that pays about $12 million a year, he knows how to spend money. Take, for instance, his Fourth of July fireworks display. It cost $10,000 and it's awesome.

Not a bad little explosion festival to entertain Western Michigan. Not to mention, Chris Kaman is a lot funnier than you'd expect. He's also a lot worse of a driver of trucks with trailers that you'd expect. I assumed he'd be a master of that. Kind of disappointing, actually. Nonetheless, it's good to find out that NBA players are just like us — they also love blowing things up and videotaping the destruction. He'd fit in great with my high school friends.

I'm also pretty sure the Clippers are going to be working some serious "no fireworks" clauses into their contracts after seeing the part where one of Kaman's buddies ties 25 mortar shells together and tells everyone to run as far and as fast as they can. Just a guess, but I'd wager that's not quite up to local fire codes.

A look around the league and the web that covers it. It's also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren't always listed in order of importance. That's for you, dear reader, to figure out.

C: The Good Point. Microfracture surgery's impact on the NBA.
PF: Brain On Funk. This is the only free-agency recap you need.
SF: Hot Hot Japan Hot. The old Miami Heat will make your mind explode.
SG: Fail Blog. The NBA's new basketballs are pretty unusual.
PG: The 700 Level. Andre Iguodala(notes) is "beautifully efficient."
6th: NESW Sports. Charles Barkley, Kevin from "The Office," and screaming.
7th: Hoops Karma. Who is the historically best player currently playing?
8th: Magic Basketball. If Chris Paul(notes) has to be traded, this is a pretty nice return package.
9th: Facts and Rumors. Might as well not eat when you go to an NBA game.
10th: Skeets. Let's hope green polo kid becomes a big-time meme.

Got a link or tip for Ball Don't Lie? Holler at me at trey.kerby (at) yahoo.com, or follow me on Twitter.

The Washington Wizards welcomed Kirk Hinrich(notes) into the fold on Monday afternoon and he said a lot of things that should excite Wizards fans. After saying that he thinks his new team "can surprise a lot of people," Hinrich had a shootaround with some local kids. They had differing opinions on the shooting guard joining their favorite team.

1. "IT'S SO FLUFFY!!!!!!!!!"

2. "Yay. Make the basketball shot."

3. "Free throws to get a crowd of kids fired up? C'mon, son."

4. "I cannot believe they would just give some dude Chris Whitney's number like that."

5. "Kirk, lemme teach you how to dougie."

6. "This guy. This is who we traded all our cap space for. Kirk Hinrich. Really? Greeeat."

7. "Gosh, dang it. Now everybody at open gym is going to call me 'Kirk Hinrich' when I make a shot. Thanks, Ernie."

There are way more kids who need their minds read, have at it in the comments.

'Twas less than a week ago that the Houston Rockets introduced Brad Miller(notes) and his camouflage shorts as the newest member of their team. We applauded the great fit, and not just because of the abundant hunting opportunities. Not only would Miller be playing in a system that values his skills — passing, perimeter shooting, other things that start with "P" — but he'd also be stepping into a low-pressure situation where he could excel in limited minutes. It was all good, baby bay-bay.

[Photos: Latest images of Yao Ming]

However, it turns out we might be seeing a lot more of Brad Miller in the next few years. Because not only is Yao Ming(notes) unsure about how he will perform this coming season, he's also contemplating ending his career if his foot doesn't heal right. From the Associated Press:

In comments to Chinese state media Monday, Yao sounded far from optimistic about his future and also made a rare criticism of China's national basketball program.

"If the foot injury does not heal next season, I might choose to call it quits," he said. [...]

Yao, who has been in China to promote some of his charity events, all but ruled out playing in the 2012 London Olympics.

"The chance is very small," the 7-6 center was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency. "The foot injury will not allow me to play so many games anymore. Like I said before, I will quit the national team and the sport one day. It's what happens to every athlete."

Leave it to Yao Ming to be completely OK with his impending basketball mortality even though it's five years too early. It seems like just yesterday that Yao was sporting the pinstriped Rockets uniforms made famous by Matt Maloney, and now he's all but telling us he's almost done with the NBA. Somebody grab me some tissues.

Of course, there is a chance that Yao's foot will be fine this season. Zydrunas Ilgauskas(notes) went through a similar injury and surgery early in his career, and has played eight seasons since then. He was 23 when he broke his foot, which makes healing a lot easier than recovering from the same injury at 30.

[In case you missed it: Yao welcomes baby girl]

I guess all we can do now is hope that Yao's foot turns out to be no big deal. Well, size 18 kicks are pretty large, but I meant "big" in a metaphorical sense. At the very least, the Rockets have the most enjoyable center ever signed for the next four years. It'd be tough to lose Yao, but those next three years would be filled with so many hearty laughs.

Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
• Baseball prank backfires horribly
• Hilarious soccer goal celebration
• NFL team suing college football coach

Shawn Marion(notes) hosted a charity poker tournament over the weekend, and judging by his pa-pa-pa-poker face-pa-pa-poker face, he fared about as well as he did in the World Series of Poker. Maybe next time he gets two aces in the hole he won't let on quite as much. Best caption wins "Rounders" on DVD. Good luck.

Previously, Lamar Odom confronts a giant basketball.

Winner, RMJ = Hero: "Khloe called. Said you'd need these."

Runner-up, JTW: "Lamar: That's a huge ball.
Fan: That's what she said!
Lamar: Who said?
Fan: That's. What. She. Said.
Lamar: Right, who said that? Khloe?
Fan: No, look, it's just a joke man.
Lamar: What's a joke?
Fan: That's what she said.
Lamar: Khloe told you a joke?
Fan: No! That's what she said.
Lamar: Khloe told you to tell me a joke?"

Second runner-up, Ryan: "Whoa... that's the biggest gum ball I've ever seen!

NBA players make a lot of money, no doy. They make so much money that we can't even understand how a single person could spend that much money because there is so much of it just sitting around. And that's without counting endorsements, bonuses, and finding 20 bucks laying in the aisle of a Target. So much money, you guys.

And if us grown-ups can't even begin to fathom how much money NBA players make, then how are children supposed to grasp that? Their tiny brains just can't handle it, as you'll see in this clip from a "Jimmy Kimmel Live" episode that ran last month.

Classic. Especially you, kid in the green polo shirt. I could watch another 15 guesses from that little bro. Too bad he gave up since he was getting so close.

Funnily enough, immediately after this clip aired, the New York Knicks gave every single one of these kids a prestigious front-office job. Sources close to the situation say it's a definite improvement.

(h/t BuzzFeed)