With word that Chris Paul is angling his way out of New Orleans, there's been talk that Emeka Okafor and the four years and $52 million he has left on his contract may be part of any such deal for Paul. "Speculation is the Hornets would want teams to take on the lousy long-term pact of center Emaka Okafor, who has four years and $52M left," writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. "Okafor is a center the Knicks can use, but his addition negates their chances of offering Carmelo Anthony the maximum." If the Knicks are able to trade Eddy Curry and his $11.2 million expiring contract back in a deal for Paul and Okafor, that would leave them with Okafor, Ronny Turiaf and newcomer Russian Timofey Mozgov at center -- which would be an upgraded depth chart. But it could come at the risk of not being able to roll out the full red carpet for Anthony, as Berman notes. Yet, we've seen LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade take less money to team up, so there's a possibility Anthony would do the same to play with Paul and Amare Stoudemire. With Dwight Howard, Brandon Bass and Marcin Gortat at center for the Magic, another rumored destination for Paul, there isn't much room for Okafor. Same goes for the Blazers, who have Joel Przybilla, Marcus Camby and Greg Oden. Of course, one member of each of these trios could be traded back to New Orleans to make room for Okafor.
