Hope everyone had a great weekend, I played in a 3 on 3 basketball tournament that lasted 5 hours, losing in the elite eight by 2 points to the eventual champions. Nevertheless, the tournament did give me more respect for T-Mac's back problems since I currently cannot bend over due to extreme back soreness. Anyway, speaking of McGrady, over the weekend the Bulls stated they would sign T-Mac pending he's healthy. The team is working him out today, and if they like what they see they will offer him a deal. What they're looking for is no glaring back issues, his ability to convince the team he'd happily come off the bench, as well as player approval, which they received from Derrick Rose. I am working on a piece about him, but waiting for more news to come in. For the record I will say that after much thought over the weekend I think we should sign him. As high school basketball star Michael Brunwasser said, "he's little risk, high reward." What the Bulls lack is wing scoring, and T-Mac can hopefully provide that. If he cannot, luckily the Bulls are a no-bullshit organization and would not allow a me-first, struggling player to overtake the team. The new poll allows you guys to state how you feel.
Moving on, I thought while we wait my buddy Aon Hussain from New Orleans (the guy who posted the Western Conference Power Rankings) could give us some insight on the Chris Paul situation, from Aon:
I’ve been a Bulls fan my entire life and it’s the only team I have complete allegiance to. But I go to school in New Orleans and I follow the Hornets as much as I can. So when I heard the news about Hornets guard Chris Paul, I felt that I could weigh in on the subject with some sort of objectivity.
As a part-time resident of New Orleans, I can tell you that it’s a mysterious place. The Mardi Gras culture has enabled the state to garner its acumen as an easy-going city where fun happens. Bourbon St. is known more for the flashing of skin for beads more than the five star restaurants or hotels that operate there. The French Quarter is reminiscent of a wide array of European architecture, from French to Spanish. Its cuisine is a mixture of Cajun, Creole, and everything in between. Even its politicians are different. Rather than being public servants, they are known for being crooked and entertaining. Who can forget the old adage that Louisiana’s former governor Edwin Edwards presented us with a long time ago. Edwards, who is presently in prison had once notoriously declared the only way he could be banished from his career were if he were “caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy.”
So it’s not surprising that this culture has transcended towards one of the state’s premiere professional sports franchises. While the Saints have accomplished so much with the support of the entire city and state, it seems as if the Hornets are just stagnating towards mediocrity and potentially the bottom cellar of the NBA. Let’s not underestimate just how big of a bind this franchise is in. Owner George Shinn has tried to sell the team for months now, but the finalization of the deal has stalled. The team fired a player-friendly coach in Byron Scott to the chagrin of many players early on in the season and replaced him with the GM who would be tossed out after the season ended. It then couldn’t haul in any of its top choices for head coaches which included Tom Thibadeu and instead settled for a novice in Monty Williams. And financially, this team is one of the most horrendous operating teams in the league. It can’t sell seats and this team is loaded with torturous contracts. It is 3 million dollars away from the luxury tax, yet is one of the worst assembled teams in the league.
But all these problems pale in comparison to the reports that came out recently about franchise player Chris Paul. The 25 year old Paul has been the backbone of this franchise for so long and represents the biggest bright spot on the team. But now Paul, disappointed with the direction the team is going has asked to be traded. This news is no surprise considering the players that Paul has around him. David West is arguably the second best player on the team, but he is soft. He’s afraid to play in the post and is a defensive liability. He would be a great third or fourth option on any team, but he’s not meant to be anybody’s Robin, even with somebody as great as Chris Paul playing the role of Batman. Emeka Okafor has been a productive player his entire career, but he’s not worth the 11 million dollar salary he is getting as he is an offensive liability. Peja Stojacovic is getting paid 12 million dollars to average 8 points a game. His age has caught up to him and frankly he has lost confidence in his shot and thankfully he’s off the books at the end of the year. The only bright spot on this team is Darren Collison, but he plays the same position as Paul.
All this leaves new GM Dell Demps in a curious position. No management would want to give up a talent as great as Paul, but if any player requests a trade then it might not be beneficial to keep him – regardless of how talented he is. But regardless of what Dell gets in return, it will not make up for the loss of Paul. Demps is in a position where he will only get cents on the dollar and frankly he will have to determine what the best value he will get in return. But the market for Paul is razor thin as he would only want to go to possible contenders, and out of this criterion many teams won’t be able to afford him or they’re already set at the point guard. So we can count out team like the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, Chicago Bulls, Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks, or any of the bottom barrel non-contenders who aren’t even worth mentioning. But after further scrutiny, these are possible scenarios of where Paul could end up and what the Hornets would probably get in return.
1) New York Knicks – At buddy Carmelo Anthony’s wedding, Paul raised eyebrows when he said that he, Amare Stoudemire, and Carmelo Anthony should establish their own Big 3 in New York. Aside from Stoudemire (who the Knicks won’t trade), the Knicks don’t have much to offer. That is unless the Hornets want any combination of Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Galinari, or Eddy Curry’s expiring contract.
2) Orlando Magic – CP3 combined with Dwight Howard and Vince Carter would be a menacing combination to in-state rival Miami Heat. Any move that the Magic would make would include the trade of current point guard Jameer Nelson, but with the Collison in place already the Hornets might balk with Nelson as a cornerstone of the deal. And it wouldn’t make sense for the Magic to acquire Paul and not trade away Nelson.
3) Portland Trailblazers – There have been rumors of Paul going to Portland for Andre Miller and any combination of Blazers so long as their names aren’t Brandon Roy or Lamarcus Aldridge. Regardless, the Hornets won’t get anything substantive for Paul.
4) Dallas Mavericks – Rodrique Boubois and Caron Butler for Chris Paul has been thrown around as well. Nonetheless, the value of the trade still isn’t equal.
5) Los Angeles Lakers – Obviously Kobe Bryant or Paul Gasol won’t be in the deal. But would the Lakers be willing to give up 24 year old center Andrew Bynum? It’s a puzzling question.
6) Memphis Grizzlies – This team has for so long yearned for a point guard. They probably wouldn’t give up Rudy Gay. Would they be willing to give up Marc Gasol or OJ Mayo? GM Chris Wallace is bound to take any risks and I wouldn’t put this past him.
7) Charlotte Bobcats – Any deal for Paul would include any combination of D.J. Augustine, Gerald Henderson, Steven Jackson, or Gerald Wallace. This is another option, but no Chris Paul type player would be attained in return.
8) Houston Rockets – Any combination of Kyle Lowry, Aaron Brooks, Kevin Martin, Trevor Ariza or Shane Battier would suffice. Granted the pool of players from this team is substantially more talented than other team, but no equal value can be produced.
We’ve exhausted over all the scenarios and teams that Paul could end up on and honestly, none of the teams have anything of substance to offer in return. We’ve come to a crossroads where Paul is one of the best players in the league and producing anything of equal value will be offered makes things far more difficult. And I highly doubt that the organization will trade him away for scraps and pieces. Thus we’re left with a difficult marriage. A marriage where one partner wants out, but the other partner still isn’t ready to part ways. And frankly, the only way Paul might be granted a ticket out of New Orleans is if he does what Governor Edwards proclaimed decades ago and is found with “a live boy or dead girl”.
- Aon Hussain
Fittingly enough, today's ESPN headline reads, "Hornets turning away calls on Paul."
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