Chad Ford: Trade for Paul was very close

Chard For brings up an excellent point. If the Hornets main concern is cutting costs and salary then Knicks or Nets could offer huge trade exceptions and swallow all of Okafor's contract along with Paul's without giving up much more than draft picks and maybe a cheap prospect or two. Doesn't it seem a little more likely that the Hornets would seek to move both for virtually no salary commitments?

 

I don't know.... I think I like our chances... we offer the expirings up, which is what Shinn wants, but we also offer some pretty great young talent in Batum, Oden, and Bayless. I think that would get it done.

 

Shinn is selling the team right? It won't be his problem how competitive they are/aren't in a couple of months. If th Hornets' plan is to remain as competitive as possible then I do agree that the Blazers should win out, but I'm not sure that's their goal.

 

I think Knicks and Nets have a much better chance, particularly if they take on Okafor as well. And one or both is/are going to be DESPERATE to do something with their cap space. But Paul would be pretty pissed about being traded to the Knicks if he actually wants to win.

 

He was going to but the dude he was going to sell the team too is in the oil rig business.

The buyer isn't worth nearly as much as he was 6 months ago and may not be able to afford it which would stick Shinn with the team and the debt.

 

But when you buy a team, you want to know it's going to be a team fans want to see. If you trade CP for table scraps, no one will attend Hornet games. That lack of interest/attendance affects franchise value. You have to get some good young talent to build around.

I think the Hornets may take the OKC strategy. Get rid of bad contracts, use their star players to get good, young and cheap talent. Right now they're hamstrung by the cap and not good enough to compete. If you want to see the franchise value plummet, add an angry and frustrated Chris Paul.

One more thing: the BP oil spill may have screwed Shinn over. Offshore drilling is a huge industry in NO and most likely any buyers will be directly or indirectly linked to that business. I can't see the financial offers going up given the current attitude toward drilling.

 

You're a faster typist than I am. Repped for speed!

 

I hope we keep trying... but I'd hate to see us have to give up Batum. But ya gotta give to get.

 

Fair enough

Look, I hope to god you guys are right, because I want this to happen as badly as I wanted Pippen to come here when he did ... I just don't really feel like getting my hopes up; it's been a long week.

 

I think we all as Blazer fans want this to happen. However, this is something that could take awhile assuming no team like the Nets take him first. The Knicks are not even in consideration in my mind because they have nothing to give up, and even though the Hornets may be looking for expiring contracts/cap relief, they would want at least a couple of decent prospects. Knicks have nothing, but trash to give back. The Nets are a serious contender, but one point to dealing Paul, if they did, is to free up Collison for big minutes. Harris does the opposite of that and unless the Hornets really like Favors or the Nets are willing to let go of Lopez, they may not be the best trading partners.

Now the question becomes, how serious was this trade being considered by the Hornets? If it is as serious as the article seems to be suggesting, I think this is easily something you can explore later in the summer or even before the trade deadline if Paul is not already dealt by then and the Hornets so not have a great record. By then Batum could raise his value or Bayless, or heck, even Rudy could. Then, if we really wanted Paul we could always throw in Oden and see if they bite. I have a hard time seeing us trade Oden if he stays healthy before the trade deadline and does really well. Who knows.

 

It's been brought up before, but if we bring in Paul, the biggest beneficiary will be Greg Oden. I'd rather trade LaMarcus than GO to get Paul.

 

Thank you and repped for sanity.

Edit: Boo I rep you too much.

 

CURSE YOU CHAD FORD! Now I'll be forced to slave over ESPN Trade Machine for hours!

(For instance...)

I wonder how much of the Blazers' recent small-forward-related activity can be explained by the Putative Paul Trade (PPT). For example:

* When we think Batum's leaving, we need to have a look at Claver, because without Batum, we'll be way shallow in the SF dept.
* BUT the second PPT falls through, we turn around and trade Martell, because we still have Batum.
* BUT, with the possibility it could be on again, and knowing that Monty would insist Batum be a centerpiece, we start going after Wes Matthews

 

Rep BrianFromWA, he's the guy who really went into detail how Paul would benefit Oden's game.

 

I agree 100%. Th Hornets agree very little. Aldridge has a horrible contract and fits horribly with David West. However, Oden is still on his rookie deal, and would fit in nicely. Plus, Paul mentioned that he would not be to thrilled to play for us if one of Roy or Aldridge were included in a deal for him. No mention of Oden.

 

As others have said, Oden would benefit greatly from having Paul, but I think Oden is the more attractive trade chip. It comes down to whether you want to get Paul on this team or not. Right now I think we will have to offer Oden, Bayless, and Batum as well as expiring contracts to get it done. Though it pains me, I think this is exactly the kind of consolidation trade that we need. We cash in some of our chips and get the best point guard in the NBA without dealing Roy or Aldridge. Small forwards can be replaced, Williams = Bayless, and Okafor/Camby can shore up our center spot just fine.

 

"The proposed deal had Portland sending Andre Miller, Joel Przybilla, Nicolas Batum, Jerryd Bayless and the 22nd pick to New Orleans for Paul and Emeka Okafor."

Here's our 15-man roster if the trade had happened, and if we then filled up the empty spots with Freeland, Koponen, and Claver. I know we can't sign all our Euros immediately, but anyway..

C
Camby
Oden
Howard
F
Aldridge
Cunningham
Okafor
Pendergraph
Babbitt
Freeland
Claver
G
Paul
Roy
Fernandez
Mills
Koponen
Johnson
Diener

 

I would much rather include LMA then Oden but NO wouldn't even consider the trade. They are trying to save money not take a large contract for a player that plays the same position as their best player left after CP3 West.

 

Where was this quote? I missed it. Do you have a link?