CP3 in a Lakers Uniform?

Well, the Hornets have looked 1000% better since they got rid of Scott. I thought we'd see eventual improvement, but nothing like this. In fact, it looked like we would lose about 90% of the next 15 games without Paul considering how they looked before his injury.

They lost on a lucky shot last night at Miami or it would have been 4 in a row. All of this shockingly without Paul. They beat the teams with the best records too.

Thornton has looked awesome, Collison shows great potential and has looked great at times, etc.

So I guess maybe Paul wants to lose more games with Scott in LA? Well, that's off in the distance. I hope he stays because he's great and fun to watch. But then again, Thornton and Collison will be fun to watch too.

 

I thought about the situation too, but I can't see it happening. I think CP3 will realize that without Scott the team will get better. CP has been the teams #1 supporter these last few games so it seems his initial emotions are in check. Scott was his first and only pro coach so there is some attachment.

As for why not to the Lakers...money and Kobe. Kobe makes a bunch of money as do some of the other big names on that team. Kobe is locked up in a long term deal. What CP would have to pass up for the Lakers to fit him under the cap while keeping the core of the team, he could afford to hire Bryon Scott to be his personal assisstant. Would they mesh well? Dunno. Could Kobe stand passing the spotlight to CP in his prime while he is approaching the end of his career?

If CP wants out of NO, the hornets could be in some serious trouble. With a large majority of the young talent in the league coming up for contract this offseason, the handling of this situation will be the key to the hornets long-term success.

 

Its pretty obvious that the Hornets window has already closed, and that they'll never really compete again in the West. Sure, they may get marginally better, but never good enough to really compete. Add to that a owner who cares more about slashing payroll than winning, and a competitor like CP3 will look enviously at other teams like the Lakers.

If you were a free agent, LA seems like a great spot. Great location and lifestyle, and more importantly for somebody as competitive as CP3, a owner who will pay what it takes to win.

There's no cap per se in the NBA. Instead, there's a luxury tax for teams that pass a certain threshold. According to your logic, the Lakers would never have traded for Gasol because they would have had to pay max money for both Gasol and Kobe but the Lakers made that move and they won a championship. In a couple of years, as other contracts expire, the Lakers could still pay CP3 while still keeping their payroll the same.

As for Kobe and CP3 getting along, I don't see why not. They both played on the Redeem Team, and so there's that bond. In a couple of years, when Kobe is no longer the same player, I can see him conceding the spotlight to CP3just like he was willing to share the spotlight with Gasol.

Kobe clashed with Shaq because Shaq came in overweight and screwed around while Kobe kept adding new elements to his game. As long as CP3 doesn't come in as bloated like Shaq, I don't see why Kobe would have any problems with CP3.

CP3 would solve the Laker's most glaring weakness, the point guard position. But, by the time CP3 would have the leverage to force a trade, you'd think the Lakers would have already addressed that issue.

 

Kobe can opt out his contract at the end of the year and there will be no more luxery tax's any more after this season im pretty sure, leBron is sure to opt out and the NY Knicks are rumered to go after both. Theres also rumers Lebron to Miami to play with Wade. This Offseason for the NBA will be crazy since no tax, it will be all about what city can offer the most money (simular to the MLB) So u dont have to worry about that CP3 rumor

 

the lakers have too much class to let a thug like cp3 be a part of their team.

 

So, with Chris Paul coming out and more or less saying he wants to be traded, it pushes up the time line for trading Paul to this off season, sooner than the original article envisioned. I know Shinn has come out and said he's not trading Paul, but its obvious that he's listening to possible trade offers when he would never have entertained possible trade offers before.

This could be one of those rare win-win situation for everybody if Paul gets traded:

For the Hornets, it lets them:
1) save tons of money, either with Paul's salary and/or making another team take on one of their bad contracts like Okafar to get Paul
2) with Paul's injury, there's always the possibility that he's not the same player when he returns
3) the Hornets have a great point guard in the wings with Collison to replace Paul. While Collison might not be the same caliber as Paul, he's also much, much cheaper with a rookie salary where he'll get 1.3M next season whereas they'd pay Paul 14.9M.
4) with all the current free agent flux, Paul's trade value is higher now than it would otherwise be which I'll address later

For the team that trades for Paul:
1) they get one of the best, most dynamic players in Paul, when he's healthy
2) it significantly increases their chances to land Lebron James. James and Paul are tight from Redeem team, and James would love to play with Paul. That's why Paul's trade value for the Hornets is even higher now, than it would otherwise be

For Paul,
1) it lets him escape from Hornets and Shinn. The Hornets window has closed, and he wants to play for a winner. If he gets teamed up with Howard, that's a significant upgrade. Or, if he teams up with Lebron, then he wins multiple championships.

With Phil Jackson leaning towards retirement, Byron Scott would look like the favorite to become the next Lakers coach. Even then, I don't see the Lakers trading for Paul. Even though the Lakers made 20M profit last season and won a championship, the Lakers owner is reacting as if he lost 20M. The Lakers wanted to cut Jackson's salary, and they might not even use their mid level exception because they want to save money.

 

You trade CP3 and fan support disappears. No chance in hell of Chouest letting this happen and no way Shinn does it either and jeopardizes the sale of the Hornets.

You simply don't trade the best PG in the NBA for any reason and expect to get better...

 

The NBA in New Orleans is all but done if Chris Paul is traded away.