Chris Paul to the Lakers seems to be growing more and more serious. ESPN reported tonight that the Hornets and Lakers have brought in a third team to pull off this blockbuster trade. That third team is another Western Conference competitor, the Houston Rockets.
According to the ESPN report, Gasol will be sent to the Rockets to fill the center position left by the retirement of Yao Ming. Chris Paul will be sent to Los Angeles and the New Orleans Hornets will look like the winners of this trade. Chris Broussard reported that Kevin Martin, Luis Scola and a combination of younger talent will be sent to the Hornets. He said either or both Martin and Scola could wind up with the Hornets, along with young talent like Chase Budinger, Patrick Patterson, and Jordan Hill - all players that showed they can handle themselves in the NBA.
If this trade does go through, the Hornets could be a pretty good team. Even with losing their All-Star point guard, they have Jarrett Jack, who has proven to be a leader and a good player who could fill the void. He won't be Chris Paul, but he can be the point guard that passes the ball to sharpshooter Martin or big man Scola. Also with the young talent from Houston, the Hornets will have a solid bench to help them out.
Houston would be losing out on this deal. They would get Pau Gasol, who could play center and power forward for them. But they won't have much else on the team for help for Gasol. So he would be going to a situation like he left in Memphis, where he was THE guy. It won't be the ideal situation for him, but maybe the Rockets can add some pieces or the young guys on the team will step up.
The Lakers would place second in a trade like this. They would gain the point guard they need. Would it be ideal to ship Gasol off instead of Bynum? It will be tested. As long as the Lakers don't trade Lamar Odom in this trade, then the would be down to one big man and that big man can't play the first five games because of suspension and isn't reliable when it comes to his health.
The ESPN report doesn't say if any other players would be sent to Houston or L.A., but there might be to make the money side of trade work. Will those players actually make the team or contribute, depends on who goes where and what position they play.
Also a report on ESPN said the reason why Bynum is not being traded to the Hornets instead of Gasol, is because they are saving him to ship off to Orland, even though that trade isn't in the bag. That is another trade the Lakers shouldn't empty their bench for. Three All-Stars, CP3, Howard and Kobe, can't win a championship. Look at the Heat, their big three fell to Dallas in the finals. If the Lakers land CP3, then they are still a top team in the league and they should hold off on the Dwight Howard trade, unless it can be a straight up trade, which will probably be unlikely.
Once the season and free agency actually starts tomorrow, only more confusion and questions will come from all these rumors surrounding the Lakers.
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