Trading for Chris Paul is still alive!

[JTB]

He's not a free agent, and he's certainly far from free.

But Chris Paul is possibly this: the summer's next storyline.

As the circus continues in Cleveland with LeBron James as the ringleader, with free agency 2010 offshoots taking place in Chicago and Miami and New York and Los Angeles, the idea that the summer's next big splash could be the trading of New Orleans point guard Chris Paul seems more real by the day.

It often goes that way when a rising star is stuck with a team on the decline, and the signs are strong that the fifth-year pro wants out. He means it when he says he loves New Orleans, and those who know him say it's not his style to demand a trade in the city that adores him back, but the continuing ownership uncertainty and bleak organizational outlook are clearly an irritant to the three-time All-Star.

Share37 "(Paul's frustration) is very real, very real," said a source close to Paul. "He doesn't see them putting a (championship-caliber) team together."

It was April 23 when news broke of the ownership change. The Hornets were supposedly set to transfer majority ownership from George Shinn to Gary Chouest, with all involved -- except Shinn, of course, but including Paul -- claiming it was a fantastic move in the right direction. Team officials were even telling reporters the deal would be finalized by the end of the month.

More than two months later, Shinn is still in charge and Chouest -- the supposed billionaire who runs the Edison Chouest Offshore global marine service company -- continues to gather minority investors to get the deal done. The delay reportedly has nothing to do with the April 20 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that is the largest in the country's history, even if it's clear he took massive losses because of the disaster. NBA commissioner David Stern even raised a red flag on May 11, saying "it's not a given at all" that the sale would go through.

Meanwhile, Paul saw his favorite coach and close friend (Byron Scott) fired early last season and his general manager (Jeff Bower) is now reportedly hoping for an exit of his own to New Jersey. And now, we wait to see if the sequence of events leads to the Hornets being forced to lose Paul.

New Orleans already turned down aggressive proposals from Portland and New Jersey, according to sources, and FanHouse reported on talks with Orlando that were denied by general manager Otis Smith days before additional reports surfaced about his pursuit of Paul.

Paul has three years and a combined $49 million left on his contract, with the final season a player option. It is believed any hopeful suitor would have to take center Emeka Okafor back in a possible deal, thus relieving the cap- and cash-strapped Hornets of his contract worth an astounding $52.1 million over the next four years.

As it stands, New Orleans, which has first-time head coach Monty Williams in place after Bower was the interim in the post-Scott portion of the season, has a payroll of $66 million for a team that finished 37-45 last season and missed the playoffs when Paul missed 37 games due to injury. That campaign included the emergence of rookie point guard Darren Collison, who played so well the Hornets wouldn't necessarily need a point guard back in a trade.

And while Shinn issued a statement on the matter saying Paul wouldn't be traded, his final statement -- whether intentional or not -- left the door open to exactly that.

"We plan to take advantage of any opportunities to improve our team."

Paul has stopped short of demanding a trade, but he hasn't kept his feelings hidden privately or publicly either. On June 24, he told ESPN he was "open to being traded" if the proper commitment wasn't shown, then told reporters in New Orleans on Friday "I just want to make sure we're committed to winning."

The courting and the pressure will only intensify, with teams coming even harder after the stars of this summer's free agent class choose their respective spots and the landscape of possibilities changes. Paul is too special, too dynamic to be hamstrung like this.

The next summer circus might be around the corner.

link:

http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/07/02/chris-paul-trade-rumors-could-be-the-next-talk-of-the-town/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~My points:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-I know shinn said they arent going to move paul but with paul being unhappy and expressing his fustration publicly i wouldnt be surprised if they agree to trade him if they see a good package come back!

-Bibby, Jamal Crawford, Josh Smith for CP3,Okafor might be the best package they see and I really think they would consider that deal!

-Last Shinn final words was "We plan to take advantage of any opportunities to improve our team", well ASG and Sund here's that chance and opportunity to improve our team as well so i say try and get something done before other teams do!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Truest statement of the article:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The courting and the pressure will only intensify, with teams coming even harder after the stars of this summer's free agent class choose their respective spots and the landscape of possibilities changes. Paul is too special, too dynamic to be hamstrung like this."

Im expecting Paul to be dealt to another team regardless of what shinn said earlier and hopefully thats us! So even after this free agency of top players let the games begin...........again!

Edited July 9, 2010 by JTB

[Uuus]

I love jamal and josh but if that's what it takes to get cp3, go for it. we need a superstar in the A just to have a chance to compete w/ mia for next 5 years. make it happen sund!

[mrhonline]

I mean this in the nicest possible way, but anyone who thinks Crawford/Smith is anything remotely close to the best offer the Hornets will get for one of the best PG's in the history of the NBA is...

...well, pitiful.

The Hornets wouldn't even begin discussions until they heard the name "Al Horford" and even then I think they'll get offered a better player than Al.

Edited July 9, 2010 by mrhonline

[Admin]

I mean this in the nicest possible way, but anyone who thinks Crawford/Smith is anything remotely close to the best offer the Hornets will get for one of the best PG's in the history of the NBA is...

...well, pitiful.

The Hornets wouldn't even begin discussions until they heard the name "Al Horford" and even then I think they'll get offered a better player than Al.

I could see thinking that way if it weren't for years of star players being traded for peanuts. If CP3 is really that unhappy there then the Hornets are not in a position of strength as they surely wouldn't want him being a negative influence over Collison and Thornton plus CP3 does have an injury history that diminishes his value as well. No doubt that he's a great, great player, but there are factors to be considered regarding him as well as the fact that they really want to get out from under Okafor's contract.

Regarding Al vs Smith you have to consider as well that they may feel Smith is the better player and he's already signed to a very reasonable contract so he could easily have more appeal to them than Horford. If your thought was Al AND Smith then I think you'll see Atlanta say thanks but no thanks since that would be devastating to our roster.

[Unforgiven]

He's not a free agent, and he's certainly far from free.

But Chris Paul is possibly this: the summer's next storyline.

As the circus continues in Cleveland with LeBron James as the ringleader, with free agency 2010 offshoots taking place in Chicago and Miami and New York and Los Angeles, the idea that the summer's next big splash could be the trading of New Orleans point guard Chris Paul seems more real by the day.

It often goes that way when a rising star is stuck with a team on the decline, and the signs are strong that the fifth-year pro wants out. He means it when he says he loves New Orleans, and those who know him say it's not his style to demand a trade in the city that adores him back, but the continuing ownership uncertainty and bleak organizational outlook are clearly an irritant to the three-time All-Star.

Share37 "(Paul's frustration) is very real, very real," said a source close to Paul. "He doesn't see them putting a (championship-caliber) team together."

It was April 23 when news broke of the ownership change. The Hornets were supposedly set to transfer majority ownership from George Shinn to Gary Chouest, with all involved -- except Shinn, of course, but including Paul -- claiming it was a fantastic move in the right direction. Team officials were even telling reporters the deal would be finalized by the end of the month.

More than two months later, Shinn is still in charge and Chouest -- the supposed billionaire who runs the Edison Chouest Offshore global marine service company -- continues to gather minority investors to get the deal done. The delay reportedly has nothing to do with the April 20 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that is the largest in the country's history, even if it's clear he took massive losses because of the disaster. NBA commissioner David Stern even raised a red flag on May 11, saying "it's not a given at all" that the sale would go through.

Meanwhile, Paul saw his favorite coach and close friend (Byron Scott) fired early last season and his general manager (Jeff Bower) is now reportedly hoping for an exit of his own to New Jersey. And now, we wait to see if the sequence of events leads to the Hornets being forced to lose Paul.

New Orleans already turned down aggressive proposals from Portland and New Jersey, according to sources, and FanHouse reported on talks with Orlando that were denied by general manager Otis Smith days before additional reports surfaced about his pursuit of Paul.

Paul has three years and a combined $49 million left on his contract, with the final season a player option. It is believed any hopeful suitor would have to take center Emeka Okafor back in a possible deal, thus relieving the cap- and cash-strapped Hornets of his contract worth an astounding $52.1 million over the next four years.

As it stands, New Orleans, which has first-time head coach Monty Williams in place after Bower was the interim in the post-Scott portion of the season, has a payroll of $66 million for a team that finished 37-45 last season and missed the playoffs when Paul missed 37 games due to injury. That campaign included the emergence of rookie point guard Darren Collison, who played so well the Hornets wouldn't necessarily need a point guard back in a trade.

And while Shinn issued a statement on the matter saying Paul wouldn't be traded, his final statement -- whether intentional or not -- left the door open to exactly that.

"We plan to take advantage of any opportunities to improve our team."

Paul has stopped short of demanding a trade, but he hasn't kept his feelings hidden privately or publicly either. On June 24, he told ESPN he was "open to being traded" if the proper commitment wasn't shown, then told reporters in New Orleans on Friday "I just want to make sure we're committed to winning."

The courting and the pressure will only intensify, with teams coming even harder after the stars of this summer's free agent class choose their respective spots and the landscape of possibilities changes. Paul is too special, too dynamic to be hamstrung like this.

The next summer circus might be around the corner.

link:

http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/07/02/chris-paul-trade-rumors-could-be-the-next-talk-of-the-town/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~My points:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-I know shinn said they arent going to move paul but with paul being unhappy and expressing his fustration publicly i wouldnt be surprised if they agree to trade him if they see a good package come back!

-Bibby, Jamal Crawford, Josh Smith for CP3,Okafor might be the best package they see and I really think they would consider that deal!

-Last Shinn final words was "We plan to take advantage of any opportunities to improve our team", well ASG and Sund here's that chance and opportunity to improve our team as well so i say try and get something done before other teams do!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Truest statement of the article:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The courting and the pressure will only intensify, with teams coming even harder after the stars of this summer's free agent class choose their respective spots and the landscape of possibilities changes. Paul is too special, too dynamic to be hamstrung like this."

Im expecting Paul to be dealt to another team regardless of what shinn said earlier and hopefully thats us! So even after this free agency of top players let the games begin...........again!

Boring

[niremetal]

I could see thinking that way if it weren't for years of star players being traded for peanuts. If CP3 is really that unhappy there then the Hornets are not in a position of strength as they surely wouldn't want him being a negative influence over Collison and Thornton plus CP3 does have an injury history that diminishes his value as well. No doubt that he's a great, great player, but there are factors to be considered regarding him as well as the fact that they really want to get out from under Okafor's contract.

Regarding Al vs Smith you have to consider as well that they may feel Smith is the better player and he's already signed to a very reasonable contract so he could easily have more appeal to them than Horford. If your thought was Al AND Smith then I think you'll see Atlanta say thanks but no thanks since that would be devastating to our roster.

If the Hornets trade CP3, it will be for expiring contracts. The "peanuts" you refer to are always expiring contracts, unless you're talking about trades that Isiah Thomas made. The price for CP3 will likely be a big expiring contract plus 2-3 future 1st round picks, preferably from a team that likely will lose a lot of games this coming year even with CP3.

Edited July 9, 2010 by niremetal

[mrhonline]

New Orleans would be looking to rebuild. Acquiring Smith's $43M contract wouldn't exactly help that effort. It essentially wipes out the savings they'd receive from dumping Okafor.

Let's put it this way:

Smith >>> Okafor

Paul >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Crawford

There will be better offers.

[Chinky_eyed_hawk]

Isn't this the same article that was on this board like two weeks ago? Honestly for every article that we can find that says Chris Paul is unhappy, there have been rebutles from the ownership saying they are not trading him and value what he brings to the team as well as the community. I love CP3 have advocated his residency in the A since his days at wake, but I just dont see this move happening IMO. Of all my years as being a fan, this would easily be one of the biggest move in hawks history.

[coachx]

New Orleans would be looking to rebuild. Acquiring Smith's $43M contract wouldn't exactly help that effort. It essentially wipes out the savings they'd receive from dumping Okafor.

Lets analyze the numbers:

Smoove - $11.6 , $12.2, $13.0 is what he has left under contract

Crawford - $10.8 expiring

Evans - $2.5 mill expiring

2010-11 salary = $24.9 mill

Total salary = $50.1 mill

Okafor - $11.5, $12.5, $13.5, $14.5

Paul - $14.9 , $16.3, $17.7

2010-11 salary = $26.4 mill

Total Salary = $100.9 mill

Total saving for Hornets owner = approximately $50,000,000

2010-11 season savings = $1,500,000

2011-12 season savings = $16,600,000

2012-13 season savings = $18,200,000

2013-14 season savings - $14,500,000

What other team can save their owner $50,000,000 while also giving them a young talents like Josh Smith ?

Edited July 9, 2010 by coachx

[mrhonline]

First, I see Smith as a complementary piece, not a star.

Smith's salary hit after the trade kicker:

$13.34M

$14.26M

$15.18M

$5.6M of that would have to be paid immediately upon acquisition. I suppose the ASG could send the Hornets $3M in cash, but I wouldn't bank on it.

As far as other teams? I could think 2/3rds of the teams in the NBA would offer their best young prospects + expirings/short contracts for Paul.

I think New Jersey has the most to offer with Harris, 5 players on their rookie contracts, tons of cap space, an owner dying to win, and a pending move to a better environment.

[WraithSentinel]

Seriously are we even rumor to be in any deal for Paul? I have yet to see us even mention in any deal. Of course I want us to get him and would gladly give up Smoove,Teague,any guys we drafted overseas and several draft picks to make it happen. Will it be enough? Tough to say but I doubt it. It is all we got to offer.

[Crank]

I mean this in the nicest possible way, but anyone who thinks Crawford/Smith is anything remotely close to the best offer the Hornets will get for one of the best PG's in the history of the NBA is...

...well, pitiful.

The Hornets wouldn't even begin discussions until they heard the name "Al Horford" and even then I think they'll get offered a better player than Al.

thank you its like some type dream because all these trade proposals act as though we are the only team that knows Paul is a good player .

[Johnnybravo4]

Just because other teams also want CP, doesn't mean they have the ability to acquire him. I swear we have the most defeatest fan bases in the history of sports.

[mrhonline]

Just because other teams also want CP, doesn't mean they have the ability to acquire him. I swear we have the most defeatest fan bases in the history of sports.

Just because we're optimistic doesn't mean the Hawks have the ability to acquire him.

[frankthetank966]

Is there actually Any source that confirms this or is this all skepticism?

[Crank]

Just because we're optimistic doesn't mean the Hawks have the ability to acquire him.

Yeah its not a matter of wanting Paul its a matter of being able to realistically get him and realistically we have a better chance at getting Steve Nash and Grant Hill for Josh Smith.

[Chinky_eyed_hawk]

Is there actually Any source that confirms this or is this all skepticism?

http://sportsillustr...tml?eref=sircrc

[Justin]

I would sure hope that this team would try to make a hard ru nat Paul if he were to be on the block. After the move by the Heat, Paul could potentially put us up there at the top along with Orlando, Boston, and Miami. Finding a really good PG is one of the toughest things to do in the league, so having one that is not only one of the best, but young would be unreal for this organization. We still need to add size inside, but it's become apparent that it is much easier to sign serviceable big men via free agency to a minimum contract deal over the past recent years that could greatly help a team. Not only would adding Paul greatly improve the team, but attendence would go up greatly, and more players would be willing to play here that could help us. It's all a pipe dream, but the idea of adding someone at the level of Chris Paul is very exciting, but probably unrealistic.

[JTB]

Lets analyze the numbers:

Smoove - $11.6 , $12.2, $13.0 is what he has left under contract

Crawford - $10.8 expiring

Evans - $2.5 mill expiring

2010-11 salary = $24.9 mill

Total salary = $50.1 mill

Okafor - $11.5, $12.5, $13.5, $14.5

Paul - $14.9 , $16.3, $17.7

2010-11 salary = $26.4 mill

Total Salary = $100.9 mill

Total saving for Hornets owner = approximately $50,000,000

2010-11 season savings = $1,500,000

2011-12 season savings = $16,600,000

2012-13 season savings = $18,200,000

2013-14 season savings - $14,500,000

What other team can save their owner $50,000,000 while also giving them a young talents like Josh Smith ?

exactly. this deal works out for both sides, if it went down anyways............

[Joker]

New Orleans would be looking to rebuild. Acquiring Smith's $43M contract wouldn't exactly help that effort. It essentially wipes out the savings they'd receive from dumping Okafor.

Let's put it this way:

Smith >>> Okafor

Paul >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Crawford

There will be better offers.

There really weren't better offers. You have to remember that you have to make a good offer and still be a contender. Only two or three teams qualify. That's the Blazers, Magic, and Hawks.