If Paul becomes available, sure, go for it

Plus, Buck's a great addition, and a few other thoughts. ...

By kerry eggers

The Portland Tribune, Jul 26, 2010

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Reflections on what crosses my mind as we start another week in the never-ending NBA offseason. ...

• Everywhere you go in town, people want to know:

“Think we’re gonna get Chris Paul?”

Well, I don’t know.

First, let’s find out the result of Monday’s meeting that will include New Orleans’ all-star point guard along with president Hugh Weber, new general manager Dell Demps and new head coach Monty Williams to discuss the future of the club.

Over the past week, we’ve had daily reports from sources – alleged members of Paul’s camp – who say he wants to be traded, that he has New York atop of list, that he has Orlando atop of his list, that he has Portland on his list, ad nauseum. And one report says his agent, Leon Rose (yes, the same guy who helped steer LeBron James to South Beach), has been busy gauging interest from teams that could be players in a Paul sweepstakes.

We’ve not heard from Paul directly – he’d be subject to a fine under NBA rules – so I’m going to take this with a grain of salt for now.

If he really is “demanding” a trade, it’s a pretty unclassy move.

We do know that, allegedly at least, Paul offered a toast after Carmelo Anthony’s wedding in New York that he be a part of the next “Big Three” with the Knicks that would include Anthony and Amare Stoudemire.

Again, a lot of class by a player who is contracted in New Orleans for more than $30 million over the next two years, with a player option for the 2012-13 season.

Keep in mind, nobody with the Hornets has said he is interested in trading Paul. In fact, everyone in ownership and management has said just the opposite, that they have no intention in trading their franchise player.

Maybe that changes if something blocks the transfer of majority ownership from George Shinn to Gary Chouest. Last week, the two issued a statement saying they remain committed to ensuring the long-term success of the franchise, that they expect the transfer to be completed at some point, without offering a timetable.

It’s not as if there is a gun to the head of Hornet management. There would be no rush to trade him before the season, although a potential work stoppage after the 2010-11 campaign could play into this.

If Paul does become available, the Hornets ostensibly wouldn’t be looking for a salary dump – at least, if they expect any of their fans to continue to support them.

They’ll be looking for major assets in return.

If it happens, I would think the Trail Blazers have as much to offer as anybody.

A package of Andre Miller (expiring contract), Greg Oden (who has only one more season of guaranteed money at $6.8 million) and Nicolas Batum would work under salary-cap limitations. I’m sure the Blazers would prefer to give up Rudy Fernandez instead of Batum, but my guess is it would be more likely to take Batum to get it done.

I’d probably make that deal. But again, that’s putting the cart before the horse.

And as friend Dwight Jaynes suggests, there’s the issue of whether Paul would be willing to agree on an extension (we’re not sure if you can legally do that until he is in the final year).

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