CP3 Stinging the Hornets

Chris Paul is ruining the NBA.

Thats right, I said it. Many of you probably think that since I was pro-Lebron, I am pro-CP3 as well. While the thought of Chris Paul teaming up with Amare, Kobe, or Dwight Howard excites me as a basketball fan, CP3 is not playing within the rules. The difference between the Superfriends (Wade, Lebron, and Bosh) teaming up and the situation with Paul is that the Superfriends were all free agents. The trio all played through their contracts and then decided what their collective next move would be. While I may not agree with how they executed it -- "The Decision" and the Welcome Party -- all three earned that right and did nothing but look out for their own best interests.

Paul, on the other hand, recently announced that he had developed an exit strategy from the New Orleans Hornets that begins on Monday with a meeting with new head coach Monty Williams and new GM Dell Demps. At this meeting Paul will be presenting the duo with a list of teams that he would like to be traded to including the Knicks, Lakers, Magic, Trail Blazers, and Mavericks. These options would all create tantalizing teams to challenge the Heat and other top teams for supremacy next year. However, this is the type of action that will kill the NBA. Exit strategies should be left to President Obama and General Petraeus.

Many people I talked to after "The Decision" said that this is why they hate the NBA and they can no longer watch it. I didn't agree with that because of the fact I previously stated about all three aligning as free agents. It was their right to decide where they play, and the fact that they took less money to try and win championships doesn't deserve the lambasting it has received by the public; it should be applauded quite frankly. But Paul's situation is exactly what could sour NBA fans (especially those in New Orleans) on this league. Paul stil has not one, but two more years under his current contract with the Hornets! Also, he has been an ambassador for the city of New Orleans and connected with the city over his career. If the Hornets end up trading one of the best point guards in the league, that will usher in a new era where the players have ALL the control.

Why is that a bad thing? Because smaller market and losing teams already have enough of a hard time alluring free agents and keeping stars that they luck into at draft time. If players are able to start demanding trades whenever they want, the New Orleanses of the league will be in a constant state of rebuilding. That doesn't sound like a business plan that will be profitable, and David Stern should be worried. That also doesn't sound like anything that the average fan in a small market would pay to see. What would end up happening is that the NBA would turn into the MLB. Winning teams in large markets or nice climates would be stocked year after year with elite talent, while losing teams in smaller markets would hope to draft a star and then convince that star to stay and develop a winning team (i.e. Kevin Durant in Oklahoma City.)

I have developed a statement that Demps or Williams need to say at the meeting on Monday. "Chris, we know you want to win, so do we. The organization is dedicated to surrounding you with the talent and putting a contending team out on the court every night. We understand your desire to be traded, however, you are under contract for two more years and we expect you to honor that contract. We definitely cannot get back a similar amount of talent for you this year, and we don't plan on trading you and setting our franchise further backward. We will do our best to prove to you we want to win, and all we ask from you is to continue to play like the MVP and franchise player we think you are."

Then, Demps has to get to work. The Hornets have the pieces right now to be a playoff contender, but not a championship contender. They may be able to keep CP3 if they can accomplish the latter. Unfortunately they have one large, immovable piece in Emeka Okafor who has 4 years left on his contract at over $11 million dollars a year. Other than that, a core of Paul, David West, Marcus Thornton, Darren Collison and Okafor is not terrible. Add in rookies Craig Brackins and Quincy Pondexter along with the raw Julian Wright and you have the makings of a decent team. The Hornets also have two big expiring contracts that they can either trade for a piece or let expire this season in Peja Stojakovic ($15.36 million) and Darius Songaila ($4.8 million). If they let these contracts expire, then they can make some free agent signings next year to try and appease Paul and get the Hornets back into championship contention. If they can do that, then they can also trade Collison who is a hot commodity that they cannot trade now as they need Paul insurance.

It just doesn't make sense for the Hornets to trade Paul this year for players like Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter, or Raymond Felton when they still have him for 2 years. Maybe next year, when they know they will lose him at the end of the year, the Hornets could execute a trade to get something back. But if it was me, I would tell Chris to get back to the gym, and after the 2011-2012 season do a sign-and-trade with whatever team wants him.

I guess I can't be surprised by this type of bad character from Chris Paul, this is the guy who once took this cheap shot on Julius Hodge during the ACC tournament.