When Paul was quoted a few weeks ago as saying he'd be open to a trade if the Hornets aren't committed to building a championship team, it was only a small hint as to the size of the chasm that exists between the franchise and its cornerstone player. Paul, in fact, has put into motion an aggressive exit strategy that will accelerate in the coming weeks, and his clear intention is to be traded before the start of the 2010-11 season, a person with direct knowledge of his plans told CBSSports.com Wednesday."He wants out," said the person, who has been briefed on Paul's strategy but spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it publicly. "He wants to play with another superstar. He wants to follow LeBron's model of teaming up with other great players."Paul's list of preferred destinations consists of the Knicks, Magic and Lakers, and members of his inner circle already have sent word to the Hornets of his desire to be traded to one of those teams, sources say. If Paul has his way, he's played his last game in a Hornets jersey.
There's been some talk on twitter that the Cavs should go after Paul. I mean, I'd love watching the guy but A) I don't see how it's possible and B) I'm not sure he'd be any happier in Cleveland than he is in New Orleans.
I find it humorous that Paul's trade demand comes after he joined LeBron's marketing group, LRMR. Did he watch The Decision and think "I want to get in on THAT!"? This trade demand will do wonders for his reputation. (And funny how this comes out AFTER LeBron bolts for Miami's beaches. No chance he'll end up in Cleveland).
I don't have a dog in this race, but I'd rather Paul end up in Orlando rather than New York or Los Angeles. I'd pretty much cry if he ended up with Kobe and the Lakers. The Knicks would be kinda neat, seeing Paul run D'Antoni's 'seven seconds or less' system, but I don't know how good they'd actually be.
But Orlando... Chris Paul teaming up with Dwight Howard would definitely make the basketball dork inside me quite happy. Teamed with Paul, Howard would end up shooting like 80% from the field while getting roughly 85 dunks a game... Paul made Tyson Chandler look good... with Howard?? Yikes. Pick and roll of doom.
4 comments:
Seriously?!?! Talk about 2 weeks too late. Had this happened earlier I have little doubt that we would have ended up with LeBron and Paul in Cleveland coached by Byron Scott. Talk about a championship caliber team there.
Nick...
I don't think it's an accident it came after A) CP3 signed with LeBron's agency and B) LeBron signed with the Heat
If we had gotten Paul, we would have had one guy leaving Cleveland this summer, and another guy getting set to leave in two years.
Even though LBJ and Paul are close friends, I doubt even Paul would have been enough to prevent LBJ from wanting to hook up with Wade and Bosh. It's pretty apparent now that LBJ was infatuated with the idea of forming a superteam in Miami. And that he felt playing in Cleveland was beneath a person of his stature.
Even if the Cavs could have traded for CP3, odds are very good LBJ still bolts, and we would have simply exchanged one superstar counting down the days to free agency for another.
Maybe, but landing Paul would've changed the dynamics just a bit.
Maybe LBJ still goes, but Paul and Byron Scott makes that decision a lot harder and much less cut and dry.
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