Like vultures circling high above the Serengetti, general managers from all over the NBA are trying to pry superstar guard Chris Paul from the financially-struggling New Orleans Hornets.
It’s not hard to see why teams would inquire.
- The Hornets are one of several NBA teams that reportedly lost money last season. They have over $70 million committed in salaries for next season — including the awful contracts of Peja Stojakovic (over $15 million), Emeka Okafor ($11.5 million), Morris Peterson ($6.6 million) and James Posey ($6.4 million).
- The team is in the process of being sold to minority owner Gary Chouest; we don’t know if Chouest will be willing to pay the luxury tax as he tries to rebuild the club.
- Darren Collison showed tons of potential when Paul was hurt last season, and could give New Orleans a much lower-priced alternative at the point.
One of the potential deals that hit the news this week was an offer from the Orlando Magic, which would send Vince Carter (whose contract expires after this season) and Jameer Nelson to New Orleans in exchange for Paul and Posey. That deal would significantly cut the Hornets’ payroll long-term; Nelson is signed through 2012/13, but makes significantly less money than Paul.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports has suggested that acquiring Paul could be part of several teams’ strategies for signing LeBron James; though of the teams with enough cap space to make a run at James, very few have the assets to complete a Paul trade. One possibility is the Nets, who could package the third overall pick in Thursday’s draft with a player or two; every player on the Net roster save for center Brook Lopez is said to be available.
Hornets Considering Chris Paul Trade Offers? originally appeared on About.com Basketball on Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010 at 09:58:11.
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