Hornets Exec: "No Deals for Paul"

If only I could believe this would put this whole business to bed. Kudos to NO for taking a firm stand. I hope they stick to it.

Furthermore:

 

Translation:

We want better offers

 

well yeah... most everything has a price. But seeing how CP is the draw for the Hornets, I fail to see why it would be in their interest to deal him now during their season ticket drive with years left on his deal. People can speculate and cross all their fingers and toes, but the franchise isn't backed into a corner needing to do something to resolve the situation in the short term. It's not like a year and a half from now there will be no interest in trading for the league's best PG.

STOMP

 

Suprise suprise.

 

Interesting, before they've even met, we now have this report that they don't want to trade CP3.

Then we also have this article from Leon Rose and CP3's camp where his camp is leaking that they are going to formally ask to be traded at this meeting.

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/68350/20100725/paul_to_issue_formal_trade_request_monday/

Somethings got to give.

 

I think the Hornets are putting up a front to make it look like they tried so when they trade him their fans will all blame Paul and not the Hornets for being a terrible franchise

 

My guess? The one who is tied to a guaranteed contract is the one who gives. Who is also the one who has a shred of his popularity remaining dangling by a thread, which would snap if he did anything silly like sit out.

Now, it might mean that NO trades Collison for help elsewhere to placate Paul, but as I'm not particularly enthused by Collison (he's a step down from Miller, and not a small one), I don't care.

 

what sort of weight do you think formally asking to be traded carries?

Dude is under contract

STOMP

 

But the reason you think that is because you're emotionally invested in him being traded, not because it's likely to be true.

 

If Paul is traded, I would expect to see it right before the deadline during the season.

But if one thinks about it, if they can move Paul & Okurfor (or however it's spelled) for expiring contracts, and finish as a lottery team for a couple of years (plus a 1st round pick or two they might get for Paul), they would have the ability to have at least a couple of high picks + the ability to be active in the free agent market. They could build a nice little team.

 

Can you please take all that fucking purple and piss back to your forum. Unless you want to offer some sort of constructive input, that is.

 

agreed 1,000,000,000%!

 

What is all this stuff about the Hornets not trading Paul? I was told by John Canzano that we had this thing in the bag as long as Paul Allen wanted to change his image and "go for it." Damn Paul Allen for not wanting to "go for it," this is all his fault!!

 

True. But if an employee and a manager have a knockdown, dragout fight and the employee is slashing his manager's tires and threatening him and his family harm when he leaves the office, then the manager fires said employee. If the union comes back a month later and says you didn't properly go through all contractual discipline routes prior to the manager firing him, thus he must be allowed to come back to work. How well do you think that will work for him coming back to work? Do you think everything will be fine between the sides now? Just because someone contractually said he had to stay employed?

It's nearly impossible to let things rise to this level of a blowup and still be able to co-exist on the same team. So they can do what that want and stick to a contract and have their way. But they'll get nothing out of him by means of trade, he'll walk in two years for nothing, and it's highly likely if they make him stay against his will he will be "injured" for the next 164 games.

 

I think if Paul goes in there this morning and says, "trade me or I walk in two years," the hornets will have to seriously consider trading him. Paul is far too valuable to just let him walk away, but with that said, I could see the Hornets waiting until the right deal comes along. That could take the full two years.

 

Seems to me that the probable lockout in 2011 has to factor into the Hornets' decisionmaking regarding CP3, but I'm not sure as to how exactly the math adds up. One way to look at it is that his contract is probably just going to require one year of pay, so why lose out on the ticket sales he would generate for this season? On the other hand, it seems as though the window that they have to make a deal and get anything in return for him is pretty short. Normally, I'd say that the most likely thing is that they wait until the deadline and make a trade. That way, the Hornets get the ticket sales for this year, but don't lose out on getting value for CP3 when his contract expires. The problem with that is that teams may be reluctant to part with resources in February knowing that there will likely be a lockout in the final year of his contract. Obviously, he could agree to a contract extension, but that would require the Hornets to make the deal with one of his "approved" teams...which is exactly where they are right now.

I guess the best bet is still that they hold him to the contract until the deadline and then make a trade to a CP3-approved team, but it seems that the Hornets are risking getting nothing for a major asset by taking that route.

 

I think he'll go in and say I want to be traded, and they'll say give us a chance. he will, they'll make an effort to move Peja and other pieces, probably end up with an overpaid-ish piece that doesn't fit at all, like Okafor, and then the Paul complaints will blow up in the offseason, after they did not improve.

 

I totally agree with this. I think the only thing that would expedite that timeline is the looming lockout the year after this one.

 

I'm still not convinced that this isn't all just posturing. I don't think it was all smoke and mirrors that the Hornets were talking about trading Paul before the draft, and I think the only reason why they're so adamant about not trading him now is because they're losing all their leverage.