Chris Paul wants out?

[Eman5805]

Re: Chris Paul wants out?

And now apparently Chris Paul isn't even on LRMR yet?

Chris Paul’s rumored desire to leave New Orleans has drawn instant parallels to LeBron James’s leap from Cleveland to Miami. The comparisons are natural.
Both players have been frustrated as solo acts. James moved to Miami to find All-Star help. Paul is reportedly seeking a trade because he wants to team with an established star. James and Paul share a close friendship, as well as some advisers.


However, Paul has not hired James’s marketing firm — at least, not yet.
Multiple news outlets, including The New York Times, have reported that Paul is working with LRMR, the company founded by James and his friend Maverick Carter. Paul was taken aback by the reports, according to a league official who spoke with him on Friday.
Although he is considering LRMR, Paul said he had not yet made a decision, according to the official, who asked to remain anonymous to protect their relationship.

http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/23/paul-hasnt-yet-done-the-full-lebron/?src=tptw

What the diddle is goin' on?

[Lauxman]

Re: Chris Paul wants out?

CP3 to the Magic plz

[nuckles2k2]

Re: Chris Paul wants out?

And now apparently Chris Paul isn't even on LRMR yet?

http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/23/paul-hasnt-yet-done-the-full-lebron/?src=tptw

What the diddle is goin' on?

What the deuce?

[Primerica]

Re: Chris Paul wants out?

Portland easily has the best pieces of any team.

Has to be a reason they have stockpiled on so much young talent at the same positions mind you.

The Hawks have the best pieces. No one comes close, not even Portland.

[BlueNGold]

Re: Chris Paul wants out?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5405528

The New Orleans Hornets have yet to start entertaining trade offers for Chris Paul, but that hasn't stopped the superstar point guard from making exit plans.

The Orlando Magic have emerged as the top team on Paul's list of preferred destinations, replacing the New York Knicks, according to league sources.

While the Knicks are still high on Paul's list, he believes the Magic, with all-star center Dwight Howard, would be a better fit. Paul also realizes Orlando has much more to offer New Orleans in a trade and therefore believes it is a more realistic destination than New York, according to the sources.

Paul will meet with Hornets president Hugh Weber, new general manager Dell Demps and new head coach Monty Williams to discuss the future direction of the club. The Hornets hope to convince Paul to give the new regime a chance, but sources say he is fully expected to present New Orleans with a list of teams he would like to be traded to.

In addition to Orlando and New York, Dallas and Portland are on Paul's list. The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported on Friday that Paul's agent Leon Rose reached out to all four teams this week.

While New Orleans currently has no plans to trade Paul, the club also realizes how problematic it would be to have Williams start his coaching career with a disgruntled star.

That's why the Hornets may indeed decide to trade Paul even though he has two years left on his contract. But New Orleans would not limit itself to the four clubs on Paul's list. Instead, the Hornets would look for the best deal for its franchise, according to league sources.

New Jersey and Charlotte are known to be among the many teams that would make offers for Paul. Some league sources believe New Orleans would insist that Hornets center Emeka Okafor, who has four years and $52 million left on his contract, be included in any deal for Paul.

Orlando is one of several teams that called New Orleans about trading for Paul earlier this summer, but the Hornets refused to consider moving the three-time all-star under former GM Jeff Bower. League executives are now wondering if that stance will change under Demps.

New Orleans has not listened to proposals yet, and most clubs will likely wait until after Monday's meeting to begin making offers. Orlando has not had trade discussions with the Hornets regarding Paul, according to sources.

Paul's desire to play in New York is largely tied to Carmelo Anthony, the Denver Nuggets star. Both players would like to team with new Knick Amare Stoudemire to form a Big Three that could rival Miami's trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

But while such a scenario is possible, it will be difficult to pull off. First, Anthony must turn down Denver's three-year, $65 million extension offer, which is something most league insiders don't believe he will do. Then, the Knicks must put together a package for Paul that entices the Hornets without eating up all the future cap space they would use to sign Anthony as a free agent next summer. If the Knicks took back Okafor with Paul, signing Anthony as a free agent in 2011 would be impossible.

Beyond that, sources say New Orleans may be unlikely to send Paul to New York because so many other teams could present better offers.

Orlando, with point guard Jameer Nelson and former All-Star Vince Carter, who only has one year of guaranteed money left on his contract, is one such team. And a pairing of Paul and Howard would unquestionably make the Magic a title contender.

Chris Broussard is a senior NBA writer for ESPN The Magazine.

[bigfnjoe96]

Re: Chris Paul wants out?

The reason Paul likes Orlando is because he seems to wanna play with Dwight a little more than Amare not because the Magic have more to offer. Orlando biggest chip is Vince & his 17.3 mil expiring & Jameer, but I'm not sure why NO would take back Jameer when they have Collison & Jameer has another 3 years left on his deal I believe.

Interesting

[nuckles2k2]

Re: Chris Paul wants out?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5405528

Sort of good news for the Knicks. If OKafor has to also come in the deal then we should stay away, no more bad contracts that weigh us down that are almost impossible to get rid of.

I really don't want to lose young, cheap, talent and our flexibility going forward.

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Re: Chris Paul wants out?

The reason Paul likes Orlando is because he seems to wanna play with Dwight a little more than Amare not because the Magic have more to offer. Orlando biggest chip is Vince & his 17.3 mil expiring & Jameer, but I'm not sure why NO would take back Jameer when they have Collison & Jameer has another 3 years left on his deal I believe.

Interesting

Agreed. I keep forgetting about Collison in this whole thing. What are they saying the Blazers and Mavs or Bobcats would be able to offer?

[Kashanova]

Re: Chris Paul wants out?

His top choice is going to change a million times from now until he gets traded if he gets traded at all... I've learned that this summer with "sources"

[Jasong7777]

Re: Chris Paul wants out?

I'm all for CP3 going to Orlando, or New York. Get him out of the West.

[J_Posse]

Re: Chris Paul wants out?

It's sad to see Chris Paul fall into the pressure of "winning now." If I'm the GM of New Orleans than I call his bluff and don't move him. They won't get equal value in any trade scenario and the team is going under a regime change.

[da ThRONe]

Re: Chris Paul wants out?

In a word, it sucks. But there's cause for optimism.

Because the old New Orleans tropes are coming into play and I have to hear ti cuz I can't not watch ESPN and other stuff like that. We've got a cheap owner, bad attendance, financial problems, not a basketball town. All that stuff.

As a fan, I've been through something similar with Baron Davis. We were blessed when we got Chris Paul shortly after and he's a special player in a way B. Shiddy can only dream of being. I would absolutely hate to see him get traded or see him walk in two years because the way the NBA is set up, with the LeBron thing, and some of that stuff about our cheap owner being true causing us to lose a very good player.

Thankfully, things are starting to change.

Our old cheap owner Shinn is in negotiations with Gary Chouest a local billionare. We've finally gutted our old basketball ops and have a GM that comes from an organization that is the epitome of what a small market NBA team should strive for in the Spurs.

That's why I think all isn't lost with CP3, not yet. But he feels wronged.

CP3 was once promised that the big three of him, David West, and Tyson Chandler would never get broken up. And now we have Okafor. And not TC.

CP3 was best friends with Byron Scott because that's just how CP3 is, he gets real close with head coaches. And now Scott is gone.

And now it sounds like he was told we'd be very active in free agency (I seem to recall an article saying so as well) and the only move we made was bringing back an out of shape, but intriguing center in Aaron Gray and reneging on the Luther Head signing. Not exactly shaking up the world, you see.

So I can understand why CP3, a dude that loves winning, is frustrated and might think grass would be greener if he did like LeBron.

But at the same time, he's the face of our franchise. Our de facto team leader. He's not supposed to bolt when things are tough. Unfortunately, people make promises they can't keep sometimes. But the majority of those people aren't here/won't be here for long. If he really was as strong as we were lead to believe, he'd stick out the rest of his contract at least.

So yeah. I want CP3 to say a Hornet. No reason I shouldn't.

However, if he does bolt, then all isn't lost. This team was the Hornets before CP3 and it'll be the Hornets after him, whether he's traded, walks, or retires after a long career in teal pinstripes.

We've got a young nucleus (FINALLY) and some fun players to watch in Marcus Thornton and Darren Collison. And even our rookies look good again. Quincy Pondexter looks promising as a swingman. He's got a decent stroke from midrange and deep, and a rare desire to make an impact defensively. I watched most of John Wall's games and I saw almost no one D up on him as well as Pondexter did, and Pondexter's not even a point guard. Very impressive. Craig Brackins looks to be at worst a Channing Frye type. But if he bulks up and can be a factor on the boards, he could be a bit of an inside outside threat that'll make life after David West all the more easier.

So again, we'll survive this. We might not be championship caliber. But that could change in short order.

If CP3's on board, great, we're that much better. If not, so be it. His loss.

This is an understatement of what CP3 means to New Orleans basketball. He saved the franchise after Katrina.

[Cebby]

Re: Chris Paul wants out?

I have a very simple reaction to this:

Stern better get his butt moving to stop this kind of thing or else the NBA is doomed. So Paul wants to have his own "Big 3" to be part of UGH! You can't have a league with 5-6 teams with 3 superstars each and the rest of the league with the scraps. It's going to create a competitive imbalance that'll cripple the league for years IMO.

The NBA has always been horribly unbalanced.

[da ThRONe]

Re: Chris Paul wants out?

If Stern wants balance he would force owners to stop being tight wads instead of restricting what players can and cant do.

[DieHardYankee26]

Re: Chris Paul wants out?

To be honest, if I'm the Hornets, I completely disregard Chris Paul's list, tell the league he's available, and give him to the highest bidder, preferably a team with no chance whatsoever to win. I honestly don't know why he's compiled a list to begin with, as if he has a choice in the matter.