Tag: Chris Paul (Page 6 of 13)

      Magic atop Paul’s list, but do the Knicks have more to offer?

      July 24, 2010 /

      There were rumblings that the Knicks were Chris Paul’s preferred destination, but now ESPN is reporting that the Magic top his list.

      The New Orleans Hornets have yet to start entertaining trade offers for Chris Paul, but that hasn’t stopped the superstar point guard from making exit plans.

      The Orlando Magic have emerged as the top team on Paul’s list of preferred destinations, replacing the New York Knicks, according to league sources.

      While the Knicks are still high on Paul’s list, he believes the Magic, with All-Star center Dwight Howard, would be a better fit. Paul also realizes Orlando has much more to offer New Orleans in a trade and therefore believes it is a more realistic destination than New York, according to the sources.

      When I ran through the various trade scenarios for each team reportedly on Paul’s list, I came up with a deal in the ESPN Trade Machine that would send Jameer Nelson, Marcin Gortat, Brandon Bass and Mickael Pietrus to New Orleans for Paul and Okafor. That doesn’t seem like enough for CP3, even with one or two first round picks thrown in. But who else do the Magic have that the Hornets would want? Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter are too expensive. At least this deal would give Hornets a starting-caliber center (Gortat), an inexpensive quality point guard (Nelson), and a couple of rotation players in Pietrus and Bass.

      As for the Knicks, this deal would send Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and Anthony Randolph (along with the expiring contracts of Eddy Curry and Kelenna Azubuike) to New Orleans for Paul and Okafor. Gallinari, Chandler and Randolph are all inexpensive, up-and-coming players and could be part of a formidable starting five (with Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton) in a few years.

      Don’t the Knicks actually have more to offer?

      Paul is meeting with the Hornets on Monday, so I’d expect some movement on this sometime next week. With the way this news is leaking out, it seems like he has his bags packed. The Hornets probably missed the boat on keeping Paul when they traded away their #11 pick and pretty much stood pat this summer (instead of trading Collison away for more wing help and/or making a run at Mike Miller).

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      Why Chris Paul wants to be traded, and how the Hornets can avoid it

      July 23, 2010 /

      The Times-Picayune spoke with a source close to Chris Paul about why the superstar point guard is disgruntled.

      “No one from our camp has said that Chris demanded a trade,’’ a Paul confidante said Thursday. ”But they (Hornets) have not put themselves in position to win this season. We have the same team as last year, basically. The only thing that matters to Chris is winning.’’

      The source close to Paul said as a result of the Hornets’ dormancy in the offseason, there are no remaining viable free agents who can help the team win this season. The source said Paul was promised by the Hornets’ brass at the end of last season that the team would be active in free agency, but now Paul feels misled and is stunned the team didn’t even pursue second-tier free agents.

      The source close to Paul said he is befuddled by the team’s lack of interest in free agents Matt Barnes, who is leaning toward signing with the Los Angeles Lakers; Mike Miller, who signed with the Heat, and Shaquille O’Neal, who remains unsigned.

      “Are they even calling guys and trying to get them to play?’’ the source said. ”We would have loved to hear that Mike had narrowed his choices down to the Hornets and Heat. But we’re never in the running for players.“

      How did the Hornets go from up-and-coming contender to a non-playoff team in two years? Let’s take a look at GM Jeff Bower’s major moves since the summer of 2006:

      Draft 2006: Selected forwards Hilton Armstrong (12th overall pick), Cedric Simmons (15th overall pick) and Marcus Vinicius (43rd overall pick).
      None of these players panned out. For Armstrong, the Hornets passed on defensive specialist Thabo Sefolosha, rotation swingman Ronnie Brewer. Rajon Rondo went #21 and Kyle Lowry went #24. They also missed on Paul Millsap (#47) in the second round. Passing on Rondo and Lowry were somewhat understandable since the Hornets were drafting for need.

      July 12 2006: Traded the draft rights to center Andrew Betts and cash to the Indiana Pacers for forward Predrag Stojakovic
      This is the move that put the Hornets into financial trouble. Peja averaged 20-6 and shot 40% from 3PT for the Pacers that season, but he started having trouble with his knees and back which hurt his already suspect mobility. Stojakovic played pretty well through the 2007-08 season (when the Hornets made their run to the West Semis), but since then his production and shooting has fallen off a cliff. What’s worse is that he’s grossly overpaid — he’s set to make $14.3 million this season, the last year of his contract — so the Hornets have not had any financial flexibility.

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      Two more trade ideas for Chris Paul

      July 22, 2010 /

      Earlier today, I suggested a few trades that the teams — Lakers, Knicks and Magic — reportedly on Chris Paul’s short list could offer the Hornets.

      Chris Broussard is now reporting that L.A. is not one of Paul’s preferred destinations, while Portland and Dallas are. Here’s a look at each team and the kind of deals they can offer.

      TRAIL BLAZERS

      Would both teams agree to a straight up Chris Paul/Brandon Roy swap? Since Roy is a base year compensation player, other assets would need to be included. Roy’s knees are a concern, but he’d give the Hornets a great backcourt (with Darren Collison) to build around. If the Blazers are unwilling to part with Roy, they could send LaMarcus Aldridge and Andre Miller to the Hornets for Paul. If the Hornets require that any deal include Emeka Okafor’s massive contract, the Blazers could include Joel Przybilla, Dante Cunningham and Jeff Pendergraph to even things out.

      I doubt the Hornets would go for a deal that didn’t include Roy or Aldridge, but you never know. How about this deal that would include Przybilla and Miller along with Nicolas Batum, Rudy Fernandez and Greg Oden?

      MAVERICKS

      You know Mark Cuban started salivating when he heard that the Mavs were on Paul’s short list, but what can Dallas offer? They have plenty of talent, but they don’t have the kind of young talent that the Hornets would be interested in. Their best young player, Roddy Beaubois, is a guard, and the Hornets don’t really need guards with Collison and Marcus Thornton on the roster. Still, he’s a valuable asset, so he would probably be included.

      How about Paul and Okafor for Beaubois, Caron Butler and Tyson Chandler? Chandler can’t be traded with another player, so it would have to be executed as two separate trades (Paul for Chandler and Okafor for Beaubois and Butler). The Mavs would get their guy, but I don’t know how a Chris Paul/Jason Kidd backcourt would work. Still, Dallas shouldn’t turn down a chance at Paul because they still have Kidd.

      For the Hornets, they’d get a good young asset in Beaubois and immediate salary cap relief in Butler (who is a good player in his own right) and Chandler. The Mavs could always throw in a couple of first round picks to sweeten the deal. In the short term, New Orleans could start Collison, Thornton, Butler, West and Chandler, and they’d have loads of cap space to reload next summer.

      There’s no doubt that the phone lines in New Orleans are burning up with this latest news. Just when you thought the NBA offseason was winding down, this happens.

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      Three trade scenarios involving Chris Paul

      July 22, 2010 /

      Ken Berger of CBS Sports has a source that says Paul has been far more aggressive in angling for a trade than we’ve been led to believe.

      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.

      Couple this with the changes at head coach and general manager and it’s clear that the Hornets are a franchise in flux. (This is also why it was so surprising that the Nets were considering Jeff Bower as their GM. He drafted well in New Orleans, but his trades for Peja Stojakovic and Emeka Okafor have put the team in its current predicament.)

      So it sounds as if Paul has made his mind up, and is using the ‘committed to winning’ reasoning to get everyone ready for a possible trade. The three teams he reportedly wants to go to all have another star. The Lakers and Magic are established champions/contenders, while the Knicks are attractive due to the market and the presence of Amare Stoudemire.

      The writing has been on the wall for some time now, and if the Hornets can’t convince Paul to stick around, their choice is clear. They need to package him with Okafor’s contract and rebuild around their promising young backcourt of Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton.

      Here are a few possible trades that make some sense for both sides:

      LAKERS

      Of the three teams mentioned, the Lakers are able to offer the most attractive package. Perhaps L.A. would be willing to send Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom to the Hornets for Paul and Okafor. (See this deal in ESPN’s NBA Trade Machine.) At first glance this seems to be a lot to give up for a disgruntled star, but we’re talking about the best or the second-best point guard in the league. L.A. has just won two titles — why fix something that isn’t broken? Well, an aging Celtics team just took them to seven games, so the new-look Miami Heat must have the Lakers’ brass a little worried. There’s a saying: If you’re not getting better, you’re falling behind.

      For their part, this deal would allow the Hornets to save $5 million this season, and would give the team enough cap space next summer for a max free agent. In total, they would save around $20 million over the next few years, depending on how much of Lamar Odom’s final year is guaranteed. If Bynum can put his knee problems behind him, he’d be a nice addition to the Collison/Thornton core. If not, then the Hornets can get out of the deal in the summer of 2012.

      The big downside for the Hornets would be trading Paul to an already strong team in the conference. They’d essentially be enabling the Lakers to control the West for the next several years.

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      Can the Knicks pull off a ‘Super Friends’ of their own?

      July 13, 2010 /

      Chris Paul apparently would like to get in on some of this ‘Big 3’ action and reportedly said as much in a speech at Carmelo Anthony’s recent wedding.

      According to a person who spoke with wedding attendee Amar’e Stoudemire, Paul made the reference during a speech of a potential union of himself, Stoudemire and Anthony, saying, “We’ll form our own Big 3,” Paul allegedly said.

      So how do the Knicks pull that off? Barring an unexpected trade, a few things would have to happen…

      1. Carmelo Anthony can’t sign an extension with the Nuggets.
      There is an offer on the table extending Anthony for three years and $64 million. Most people think that with a new collective bargaining agreement looming, he’d be nuts not to take the guaranteed money. But if winning is truly the most important thing, and he sees a future with the Knicks, he would let his current contract expire and become a free agent next summer.

      2. ‘Melo signs a max or near-max deal with the Knicks.
      Assuming Ray Felton makes about $8 million and Stoudemire makes around $19 million for the 2011-12 season, the Knicks would be on the hook — barring any new contracts — for around $44 million heading into that season. Assuming the salary cap jumps $2 million to $60 million, the Knicks would have around $16 million in cap space. That would be enough to sign Anthony, assuming he’d be willing to take a bit of a cut.

      3. Chris Paul opts out of his contract and signs a max or near-max deal with the Knicks.
      Depending on what the Knicks do with Danilo Gallinari, Anthony Randolph and Toney Douglas, they project to be on the hook for $32 million plus Melo’s deal ($16 million), or $48 million total. Assuming the cap jumps another $2 million, the Knicks would have about $14 million in cap space (or as much as $26 million depending on Gallinari, Randolph and Douglas).

      Is it probable? No. Is it feasible? It looks like it.

      One hangup might be the fact that Stoudemire’s contract is so large (five years, $100 million) that the Knicks won’t be able to afford to pay anyone else that much, so Anthony and Paul would have to agree to play for less when they are both arguably better players. Also, if the salary cap doesn’t rise at least two million a season, there won’t be enough room to sign both players without slashing salary elsewhere, and the Knicks appear to want to hold onto Gallinari, Randolph and Douglas. Lastly, a new collective bargaining agreement could radically change the salary cap and how free agency works.

      Now that Knicks fans know that they aren’t going to get LeBron, Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh, they can start looking forward to the Summer of Melo and the Summer of CP3.

      Imagine an Eastern Conference Finals with the Heat (Wade, LeBron, Bosh) and Knicks (Melo, CP3, Amare) battling it out. As we learned last week, anything is possible.

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