The thrash of desperate stars begging for desperate measures has the unfortunate side effect of bringing completely innocent bystanders into the harsh glare of a spotlight predisposed for ridicule, or at least negativity. When Kobe Bryant took to the supermarket parking lot to wage jihad on Business As Usual in L.A., a precocious Andrew Bynum was unfortunately dragged through the muck, as Kobe intimated to fans (on video) that refusing to part ways with young Bynum in a trade for Dead Sea Scrolls co-author Jason Kidd was, basically, stupid. While Chris Paul hasn't done anything remotely similar to Kobe's FoodMax squeal, the gravitational pull of his personal labor strife with the Hornets has pulled Emeka Okafor into the damning spotlight. Paul isn't explicitly questioning Okafor's will to win or his ability, but, considering Okafor is New Orleans' second most well-paid player yet isn't an All-Star, and given that Okafor's contract will likely keep the Hornets from being major free agency players next year, it's clear Paul's reported demand for answers from N.O. management is as much as indictment of Okafor as anyone. Actually, it's an indictment of Jeff Bower, the now-exiled general manager who assembled both the glorious 2007-08 Hornets team, which had the West's second-best record, and the 2009-10 Hornets team, which struggled through an injury-laden and uninspiring campaign. But Bower's not around, so his N.O. offspring get to pay the old man's debt, and that means Okafor is the bad guy. Only -- again -- Paul hasn't directly accused Okafor of holding him down. The circumstances just make it look that way. http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/07/27/emeka-okafor-is-and-is-not-the-problem/?sms_ss=tweetmeme
