Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports activities
Results of commerce request: Traded from New Orleans to LA Clippers
Simply forward of the 2010-11 commerce deadline, Chris Paul had his agent inform the then-New Orleans Hornets that he wouldn’t be signing a contract extension and wanted to be traded to the Knicks.
Lower than two weeks later, Paul was on a brand new staff – but it surely wasn’t the Knicks. It could be the Los Angeles Clippers, though how Paul wound up enjoying for the lesser of the 2 Los Angeles basketball manufacturers was a little bit of a multitude.
That’s as a result of, on the time, then-NBA commissioner David Stern was appearing because the defacto proprietor of the Hornets because the staff had an possession sale by George Shinn fall by means of, making a commerce for an asset as worthwhile as Paul fairly difficult.
One week after Paul’s commerce request went public, studies surfaced that the Lakers had pulled off a blockbuster three-team trade with the Rockets to land Paul:
Right here is the whole breakdown of the commerce as it’s at the moment structured: Los Angeles Lakers: PG Chris Paul (from NO Hornets). New Orleans Hornets: F Lamar Odom (from LA Lakers), SG Kevin Martin (from HOU Rockets), PF Luis Scola (from HOU Rockets), PG Goran Dragic (from HOU Rockets). Houston Rockets: PF Pau Gasol (from LA Lakers). There may even be draft picks exchanged within the closing proposal, however these will probably be finalized when the transactions can formally be made starting Friday at 2 p.m. ET. The draft picks concerned will probably be dealt to the New Orleans Hornets. These picks will probably be a future first- and second-round choose, in response to David Aldridge.
It appeared just like the Lakers had made a significant transfer to land the most effective level guard within the league to pair with Kobe Bryant in the identical backcourt.
That’s, till Stern stepped in and vetoed the commerce, partially as a result of he felt the Hornets may do higher in a possible Paul deal. Nonetheless, Stu Jackson, who was then the NBA government vp of basketball operations, believed differently:
Jackson: “David made some remark that the rationale he vetoed the commerce was as a result of it wasn’t a horny sufficient bundle for a participant of Chris Paul’s caliber. That was solely a half-truth. The opposite half was that he additionally felt that he needed the Hornets to be a horny property to a potential proprietor.”
Finally, the Clippers swooped in with a proposal of Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu and a first-round choose that ultimately grew to become Austin Rivers to land Paul.
Evidently, that’s a worse bundle than what the Hornets would have gotten from the Lakers and Rockets, however that’s neither right here nor there.
It’s curious to consider how NBA historical past may need modified had Paul ended up with the Lakers in 2011-12, as he practically did. That was the lockout-shortened season that noticed the purple-and-gold end 41-25. How a lot would Paul have helped enhance upon that?
Certain, they’d have misplaced Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol, however they nonetheless would have had a beginning lineup of Paul, Bryant, Matt Barnes, Metta World Peace and Andrew Bynum. It’s attainable that lineup may have paved the best way for an L.A. journey to the Finals, the place the Lakers would have met the LeBron-Dwyane Wade–Chris Bosh period Warmth, a surefire tv scores bonanza.
A late-prime Kobe vs. peak LeBron showdown within the Finals? It hurts to consider how enjoyable that might have been.
Oh, properly.
