Hornets to Make Decision on Chris Paul By Friday?
by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
The bad news is that Chris Paul is involved in so many trade scenarios, it’s enough to cause a migraine for anyone trying to sort through the rumors.
The good news is that maybe, just maybe, this won’t be dragging on for too much longer.
According to Yahoo! Sports‘ sources, the New Orleans Hornets are expected to make a decision on their franchise superstar by the end of this week. What that means, of course, is anyone’s guess.
Here are some of the team’s options so far, as the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Orlando Magic Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks and LA Lakers are all in the hunt for CP3′s services :
“The Clippers’ opening salvo was an offer that included restricted free agent DeAndre Jordan and Minnesota’s unprotected first-round pick, with L.A. hoping that the prospect of playing with electrifying forward Blake Griffin and the big stage of Los Angeles would be enticing enough to Paul that he would eventually commit to the team long term. Eric Gordon is not in the deal “at this time,” a source said, though it is understood that any deal that would include a commitment from Paul would have to include the sharpshooting guard.” “There are several legitimate suitors angling to make a play for all-star guard Chris Paul, according to reports by ESPN and Yahoo! Sports , but the Knicks, with very little in assets to offer, are not among the group. So here we are again in a situation where it seems a third of the league has the interest and ability to trade for a star, but only one team — as the Yahoo! report confirmed, the Knicks — is his preferred destination.” “It appears that New Orleans point guard Chris Paul is going to be traded in the near future, and the Celtics have continued their conversations with the Hornets regarding Rajon Rondo, according to two NBA sources. Although Celtics president Danny Ainge said he had no plans to move Rondo for Paul, the club has continued looking for a way to pry the perennial All-Star out of New Orleans. The Celtics appear open to discussing a trade for Rondo, although a Hornets source said Boston was not ‘shopping’ him.” “Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Los Angeles Clippers guard Eric Gordon are the two players New Orleans has pursued the hardest in the Hornets’ fast-moving search for a workable Chris Paul trade, according to sources close to the talks. But the Hornets continue to meet with resistance from the Warriors and the Clippers on Curry and Gordon, because both teams are reluctant to part with their young backcourt cornerstones with no assurance from Paul that he will stay beyond this season. Sources said that the Hornets have actually been trying to convince the Warriors to part with Curry since before last season’s trade deadline in February. But the Warriors could only stomach the inclusion of Curry if they knew Paul would extend his contract as part of the trade or at least commit to invoking his option for the 2012-13 season. Golden State has still received no such promises.”
To add to the fun, the Hornets are currently owned by the NBA and desperately searching for a buyer, while the team’s meal ticket on the court looks to bolt prior to becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Yeah, good luck with all of that.
Read the SLAMonline Discussion Rules before posting.