Chris Paul Trade Rumors: The final deal (#133)

[mcHAPPY]

I think owners are more concerned about how good it will make the Lakers rather than how good it will make the Hornets.

They'll have this lineup:

PG: Paul, Fisher, Blake, Morris
SG: Kobe, Johnson
SF: World Peace, Barnes, Walton, Ebanks
PF:
C: Bynum, Caracter


That might be sketchier than the Heat's reserves and role players last year.

What happens if Paul gets injured again? What about Kobe with all the miles on him?

I think the Lakers are making a lateral move with the trade.

[Apollo]

Everyone felt Howard would be the next domino to fall. Like the Celtics trio showed in year one, the bench doesn't matter too much as long as the starters can log heavy minutes and stay healthy. They could win enough to get a seeding and then shut Kobe down partially to get him rested for the playoffs.

If everyone stays healthy in either scenario it's not a lateral move. The Celtics bet on it happening and they won.

[stretch]

The trade nullification is now a bigger story than the trade. Paul may finish the year with the Hornets and they will get nothing when they could of had Scola, Odum, Martin, and Dragic and a draft choice. The Hornets were the big losers with the no trade ruling. How can other GMs in the league be certain they can now have good faith dealings with Demp or whomever replaces him if he resigns?

[jimmie]

The Hornets were the big losers with the no trade ruling. How can other GMs in the league be certain they can now have good faith dealings with Demp or whomever replaces him if he resigns?

I think it's pretty clear that the owners (who collectively own the Hornets, but want to sell them ASAP) see more value to a potential buyer in a flexible financial situation rather than a team that's competing on the court. The proposed deal would have given the NOH a similar if not worse team on-court, and an absolutely horrible financial situation off-court. They lost out on getting players in return for Paul (so far; I think a trade will still happen this year sometime), but they didn't lose out as a saleable asset.

As for good-faith negotiation with Demps? Still there. No GM in the league has the authority to execute a deal without going to his owners first. Other GMs, if they're smart, will see what the "owners" of the Hornets are now looking for, and will be able to offer proposals to Demps that might work. The issue here seems like Demps wasn't given good walking orders from the owners on what kind of deal they'd accept for Paul. That seems to be resolved.

Offer a trade that provides a financial return for NO, or young cheap players with potential, and I bet a deal gets done. That doesn't even preclude shipping an elite player as part of the deal. This deal, though, was just too obviously designed to help turn LA into Miami-West, and between that and the financial implication for the NOH franchise, it was too much to expect a bunch of small market co-owners of the Hornets NOT to balk.

[Apollo]

The trade nullification is now a bigger story than the trade. Paul may finish the year with the Hornets and they will get nothing when they could of had Scola, Odum, Martin, and Dragic and a draft choice. The Hornets were the big losers with the no trade ruling. How can other GMs in the league be certain they can now have good faith dealings with Demp or whomever replaces him if he resigns?

Or they could go back to the drawing board and talk to the other five teams after him.

[Prime]

I hate the Lakers. Teams seem to trip over each other to give them stars in their Prime.

You called?

[mcHAPPY]

Everyone felt Howard would be the next domino to fall. Like the Celtics trio showed in year one, the bench doesn't matter too much as long as the starters can log heavy minutes and stay healthy. They could win enough to get a seeding and then shut Kobe down partially to get him rested for the playoffs.

If everyone stays healthy in either scenario it's not a lateral move. The Celtics bet on it happening and they won.

I'm not too sure I agree with that. The Celtics had a pretty decent bench: Eddie House, James Posey, Tony Allen, P.J. Brown, and Leon Powe. It wasn't the best bench in the NBA but it was far from the worst.

Oh yeah, and don't forget Scalabrine!

[mcHAPPY]

Chris_Broussard Chris Broussard
@ESPNSteinLine & myself have been told by sources that new CP trade btwn LAL, NO & Hou has been submitted to NBA office for approval

We'll have to wait and see.

[mcHAPPY]

KBergCBS Ken Berger
The key changes, as @WojYahooNBA reports, involve the Lakers and Hornets, source says. Rockets' role "virtually unchanged."

KBergCBS Ken Berger
Source confirms framework of revamped trade agreement sending CP3 to Lakers has been reached, pending approval of the commissioner.

.

[stretch]

The Lakers have backed out of the revamped deal and are giving Lamar Odum to the Mavs for future draft considerations. Is this a salary dump to sign a free agent this season or next, or is this a move to save some luxury taxes? The drama continues.....

[mcHAPPY]

daldridgetnt David Aldridge
Source: Sign/trade between Boston, NO for David West is dead, confirms ESPN.com report that Pacers closing in on signing West.

So the Hornets were in line to get the Clippers first round pick from the C's. Now the Hornets will lose West for NOTHING. This is another good reason why they should have left the decisions to the governor they appointed.

[yertu damkule]

per Yahoo (@WojYahooNBA):

Clippers are refusing New Orleans-NBA steep asking price for Chris Paul, league sources tell Y! Sports. "Deal could be dying," source says.

boy, stern REAAALLLY wants to keep paul in NO...

[Apollo]

I think what they're doing is attempting to trade Paul, get top value so that a sale can be made sooner rather than later while also not being viewed as stacking the deck with one of the big market teams. I think this is all an image thing and the irony of it all is that they're killing their image right now... Not to mention that Paul can do what ever the heck he wants to do once he becomes a free agent and can opt to force the team team who holds his rights into a S&T or risk getting nothing.

[yertu damkule]

I think what they're doing is attempting to trade Paul, get top value so that a sale can be made sooner rather than later while also not being viewed as stacking the deck with one of the big market teams. I think this is all an image thing and the irony of it all is that they're killing their image right now... Not to mention that Paul can do what ever the heck he wants to do once he becomes a free agent and can opt to force the team team who holds his rights into a S&T or risk getting nothing.

stern set the bar by rejecting original 3-teamer...he knows the scrutiny will be high on any deal that gets approved. word now is that it's the L (not the clips) that may be backing out, but i'm not sure if that's because the clips refuse to include gordon*, or because stern just likes fucking with people.

*apparently, gordon has been included from the get-go, but the clips wanted it kept on the DL in case the deal fell through (not wanting a repeat of the odom situation).

PS - if i'm the clips, no way do i give up bledsoe AND gordon & minny's pick AND a valuable trade chip (kaman) for a creaky-kneed PG who may bolt after two seasons (apparently, paul agreed to the opt-in for '12-'13 as part of deal).

just gets messier...

[yertu damkule]

per the sports guy:

'Just got word the Clips/CP3 trade is definitely off. Can only be revived if NBA bends on its super-steep asking price. This is I-N-S-A-N-E.'