Another Chris Paul Deal Off

[klunderbunker]

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7...lippers-trade-dies-price-too-high-sources-say

You know, the NBA seems really bad at running a franchise.

 

[gd]

Hornets go 2 great pieces in that deal. Gordon is going to be a top 5 shooting guard for at least as decade and that Minnesota pick is going to be top 10 in a great draft. Mine bottling.

 

[One Punch Doug Crashin]

I think a lawsuit is in the works now. That's 2 trades Stern has 86'd.

 

[Ty Burna]

I think giving up what they were going to was too much. I would have kept Gordon or the 1st round pick, but not give up both. But for the league to ask for more is ridiculous.

 

[gd]

Yeah, could actually be a blessing in disguise for Clips. 5 years from now there's a good chance you'd rather have Gordon than Paul. I think a better trade for them would've been replacing Gordon with Bledsoe. Not that any of it matters, it's basically impossible to trade Paul at this point.

 

[GI Cake]

I never quite understand why the Hornets are trying to trade exclusively in the West. I am sure if the Knicks or the Magic would hop at a chance to get Chris Paul On top of that, the chances of CP3 ruining the Hornets playoffs hopes are practically eliminated because he is playing in the East.

 

[Ty Burna]

The Knicks and Magic don't really have the trade pieces to get Chris Paul.

 

[GI Cake]

The Magic have Dwight Howard who they are looking to send off (for some odd reason) And I am sure that the Hornets would love to take Chauncy Bullips and few handful of backups like they were planing to do with the Lakers. But hey, I don't have a career in the NBA for some reason.

 

[gd]

Yeah, you shouldn't be working in the NBA...

 

[Ty Burna]

The Magic have Dwight Howard who they are looking to send off (for some odd reason) And I am sure that the Hornets would love to take Chauncy Bullips and few handful of backups like they were planing to do with the Lakers. But hey, I don't have a career in the NBA for some reason.

1. Magic aren't trading Howard to the Hornets. Paul won't sign with the Magic long term which would be a waste of Dwight Howard. The Magic want young players they can keep around and draft picks. Same as New Orleans. Howard wouldn't resign long term with New Orleans so again the trade would be a waste of Chris Paul.

2. Billups got amnestied so he's a free agent. You look at the Knicks roster, they have no trade pieces. Carmelo's not going anywhere obviously, the only possible trading piece would be Amare, but that would only be one piece, and a piece that has had injury issues. Not only that but it would be one step forward and one step back for the Knicks. They're better off waiting for next year when there are a number of potential big name free agents floating they can sign without giving anything up. Otherwise the Knicks don't have any draft picks worth trading considering Isiah has nearly traded them all off. Even if they did have some to trade, they aren't guaranteed unprotected lottery picks considering the Knicks are now good enough to make the playoffs every year now.

All that, and we're not even talking about the salary cap yet.

Now take a look at what the Clippers were offering:

A $12 million expiring contract that opens up a lot of cap space and/or trade bait. A 2012 first round pick that would have a great chance at ending up in the top 5 of the draft with a loaded draft class. A young player in Gordon who likely wouldn't be a shoo in All Star, but can develop in a quality starter. Aminu has youth and potential. The reason why the Clips dropped the trade was because there's no guarantee Paul would stay in LA, thus the Clippers wanting to retain Bledsoe, although I would rather hold on to Gordon then him.

The Lakers/Rockets/Hornets trade would have given the Hornets plenty of quality starters, essentially overhauling the team into something that compete right now. The problem is a number of those players are in their 30's so they're starting on the downhill of their careers. The Clippers deal was far better in regards to setting up New Orleans for the future.

 

[The Crock]

I'm completely flabbergasted by this entire situation. The NBA is forcing Chris Paul to stay in New Orleans, but he's GONE at the end of this year. I can see this marring down the whole season and I can't stand that, but at the same time, I'd love nothing more than to see the NBA realize how badly they screwed up and trade off Paul later on in the year for a fraction of what they could have gotten here.

I agree with what has been said though; this is great for the Clippers. Gordon, while maybe a bit overrated, is an awesome piece to have around and that pick is going to turn into a solid player as well. For them, it'll be much better to build around a core of Gordon, Bledsoe, and Griffin. In a few years, that team will be a threat, a la the Oklahoma City Thunder, no need to gut that for Chris Paul.

 

[J.J.]

If they wait, i imagine the Clippers could get Baron Davis back for cheap, I would not give up Eric Gordon in no trade, he is going to be a future perennial all-star. No you cannot replace Gordon with Bledsoe because he is a point guard. I now wonder where Gilbert Arenas will end up.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Consider: Who did the Lakers have to give up to get Pau Gasol, a man whose acquisition brought them the championship?

Kwame Brown? That's all?

You've got to be kidding!



Translation: If the Lakers decide they want Chris Paul, they'll get him.

 

[J.J.]

Lakers gave up 2 first round draft picks, they acquired Brown because he had an expiring contract, notice they didn't re-sign him. It was a move to free up cap space with later led to them signing Zach Randolph. Memphis drafted Marc Gasol and Greivis Vásquez with those picks and they're both capable of being great. I saw Vásquez ball in Maryland and he finished just behind Juan Dixon with second in points in team history.