'The trade' as I heard it

[jamestheaussie]

I've outlined everything I've heard at one point or another, but for those who weren't here for the lead up here is what I was told. If you don't feel like reading the whole lead up and blah, blah, blah then skip down to a row of asterisks for the pure details.

I first heard about possible trades on Friday of last week (the 9th) when a friend of mine who works in the Charlotte Bobcats organization had mentioned off the cuff that the team were trying to acquire Chris Paul, but the New Orleans Hornets would not entertain any trade offers for him. At that time he told me there was 'no way he goes anywhere'. At the time I thought nothing of this... I was sure that overtures must be made all the time to try and at least see if a deal could be struck, and given Paul sat with Jordan during the Bobcats' series in Charlotte I thought it was probably a given they would at least inquire. At this time he told be that the organization were definitely looking for another PG to start, or push Augustin in camp, and not a rookie.

When the original news broke about the Diaw for Calderon trade it was my assumption that this was just the natural progression after being denied by New Orleans. I liked Calderon and spent much of the day (Monday) talking up Calderon and being excited for the prospect of his abilities in Charlotte. While we were talking back at forth at RoF someone asked if this could be part of a blockbuster trade (when we thought part of Bosh's trade exception must be coming to Charlotte), I responded then by saying 'I think we've gotten addicted to the idea of a blockbuster trade... maybe we're going to be cheap now'. Still, it made me wonder so I called my source in Charlotte when I got off work to see if he had heard anything. He had... at that time he told me that the Bobcats pushed again to acquire Paul, but it would have taken almost everything the Bobcats had, plus taking on enough of New Orleans' bad contracts that they could not have matched a front loaded offer sheet for Tyrus Thomas if one was offered.

At the same time though he did tell me that 'something major was in the works' and he couldn't give me more details. At that time, I believed it was going to be a plan to send some of Toronto's trade exception, and Nazr Mohammad and picks to Minnesota for Al Jefferson... but my source told me 'it's not Jefferson'.

A little after midnight word got out that Jordan was about to pull the plug on the Calderon deal... I had no idea what was happening, but that same night my source was called into work around that same time.

In the morning he called me as he was heading into the office. He told me some 'crazy stuff was going on'. He also told me the Charlotte Observer would have false information, and he didn't believe that any national outlet would have any information. At this time, as far as he was concerned the Calderon deal was still alive.

At this point I must interject in this long winded story to explain something that I found out after the fact relating to Tuesday. Something to do with the Bower firing in New Orleans opened the possibility to trade for Chris Paul for the first time. The Bobcats got word of this in the evening Monday, Vegas time and it was their belief Paul was going to be shopped. They saw their major stumbling block in getting Paul to be Dallas, who they knew had already made numerous overtures to New Orleans like the Bobcats had. Dallas, convinced Paul wasn't going anywhere was offered Chandler and Ajinca for Dampier, Carroll and Najera- the very contracts they were trying to move to Minnesota for Al Jefferson. The Bobcats knew what Dallas wanted gone, and made an offer and closed it as soon as possible.

Even now I'm not sure why we had to have Erick Dampier... I can speculate that maybe New Orleans wanted to cut money outright, but they did not want Tyson Chandler. Convinced that Dallas would find out about Bower's eventual firing Charlotte got the deal closed and in the book Tuesday.

We were left wondering what was planned. Tuesday night I got an email from another friend of mine in New York. He was not related to the Bobcats' organization, but his company did a lot of dealings with the NBA and typically facilitated in large scale trades. It was here that I first heard about what was referred to as 'the deal'.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

I can't tell you the psyche behind the trade itself, but I have my opinions on why this may have happened. My understanding is though that Charlotte for the first time had pieces New Orleans may be interested in to acquire Chris Paul, provided we would also take Emeka Okafor's contract back. It was outlined to me like this:

Trade 1: Erick Dampier to New Orleans for Chris Paul http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=2739ale*

Trade 2: DJ Augustin, Gerald Henderson, Nazr Mohammad, unprotected 1st round pick, 2nd round pick for Emeka Okafor http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=2eyj3tu*

I was told that this started in motion a long standing dream that Michael Jordan had to unite several of his 'Team Jordan' athletes under his team. Even though the Bobcats would be deep in the luxury tax, it was the organization's belief that the extra ticket sales, sponsorship opportunities and marketing would ultimately outweigh the money lost to luxury. He told me it would be 'damn near impossible' to pull off the trade, but when I pressed him he told me he gave it about a '30% chance of happening'.

Following this, he told me about another trade.

I was told that if, and only if Chris Paul was already on board negotiations would begin on another trade between the Charlotte Bobcats and the Denver Nuggets. Provided Paul has been traded, Carmelo Anthony would tell the organization that he would not be accepting their contract offer to play beyond the 2010-11 season. At this time the Bobcats would propose the following trade to Denver:

- Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw, right to switch 1st round picks in a future draft, 2nd round pick for Carmelo Anthony. http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=23fttaa*

I asked him why Denver would do this, and all he could tell me was 'they just saw what happened to Cleveland and Toronto... it's a sweetheart deal if you ask me'. This made sense to me... lose Melo to free agency, or get an All-Star, versatile big man and draft flexibility for essentially no reason. I believe Charlotte was offering this for two reasons:

1) MJ and Larry Brown have a long standing relationship and respect for George Karl
2) They couldn't carry that much salary into the season.

I asked him what he thought the chances of this one were. He told me '85% if they have Paul, 0% if they don't'. It was his belief that if Paul wasn't traded Anthony would wait a while longer and sign a 2 year extension so his contract finished as Paul's did. He also told me that Denver had been trying to trade for Paul also, but with no luck... they didn't have pieces New Orleans wanted.

From here, information started to trail off. My Bobcats source told me that numerous rumors were flying around and that while the Paul and Melo deal was something of water cooler banter in the organization he hadn't heard anything specific. He could tell me though that numerous backup plans were flooding in to the office regarding teams who wanted Dampier's 'dust contract' and these would be examined if the 'big trade' didn't go through. He told me at this time that what he did know was that if the 'big trade' didn't happen by the end of Friday, there was almost no chance it would occur at all. He did tell me, however, that a fake rumor detailing interest in Ramon Sessions would leak during the day, and that if we signed a free agent PG it was a good sign.

Wednesday: Bower was fired (peaked my interest), they voided Luther Head's contract (I believed to make room for Henderson) and we signed Livingston (I believed because we knew we were losing DJ).

When these three things happened I was literally giddy... I was sure the deal was going through and when Ourdaywillcome said his people said it was on I thought it was a slam dunk.

Then nothing happened

I need to add that behind the scenes this entire time Ourday and myself were comparing notes. Everything we got kept being remarkably similar, enough that I was sure we were on to something.

I still don't know what happened on Wednesday to delay the deal. My guy in Charlotte had no clue, and my source in NY was preoccupied with other issues... and here we sit at 3 a.m. On Saturday morning and I'm still not 100% sure why everything came grinding to a halt.

So, that's what I know. I'm as disappointed as the rest of you that this didn't go through. Now, we have to wait and see what 'backup trades' could materialize. I asked my source in Charlotte yesterday, and he told me that it would take everyone getting back from Vegas and then evaluating what happened and what they had on the table. He told me it could take up to weeks.

If you have any questions, fire away. The only thing I ask if that you don't pose a question that would result in me giving away any information on my sources.

Thank you, Go Bobcats!

PS: I again want to apologize that my naivety about just how far reaching one rumor can go and effect so many people. I originally isolated all of this to one blog, and now I am simultaneously posting this on Rufus On Fire, and Bobcats Planet as a gesture of good will so people might believe I didn't share any of my information merely for website.

[GOBOBCATS24]

Thanks man don't be shy here at BCP. I enjoy your input and look forward to seeing you around a lot more. I still have some kinda hope for this and hopefully you keep being good buddies with this source. looks like MJ is only wanting to do one thing: become a contender. Thanks again.

[SWedd523]

Thank you for sharing the information. Here's to hoping that you catch word as to why talks stalled. Hopefully the talks get back underway as that'd be one HELL of a starting unit.

I believe before, you discussed letting us in on the backup trade as well. What were the terms of that one?

[Proudiddy]

Thanks James, with the other stuff that took place surrounding the Hornets franchise this week, it’s definitely believable. I’m still wondering why, if all those moves were made in such a small time frame, which suggest both our team and New Orleans were planning on a deal, why did it fall apart?

I can see how you and ODWC really felt we were pulling the trigger on the deal. Sucks it didn’t happen, and that will probably bother me for awhile that we don’t know what happened (if it all went down as your sources suggested).

I know you pretty much said it in your thread, but to both you and ODWC, have your sources said it’s still possible at all now? Now that the original deadlines they gave you passed?

[jamestheaussie]

Thank you for sharing the information. Here's to hoping that you catch word as to why talks stalled. Hopefully the talks get back underway as that'd be one HELL of a starting unit.

I believe before, you discussed letting us in on the backup trade as well. What were the terms of that one?

I hate the backup trade I've heard... so I hope it's not entertained.

It's Dampier to Detroit for Ben Gordon and Chris Wilcox.

[jamestheaussie]

Thanks James, with the other stuff that took place surrounding the Hornets franchise this week, it’s definitely believable. I’m still wondering why, if all those moves were made in such a small time frame, which suggest both our team and New Orleans were planning on a deal, why did it fall apart?

I can see how you and ODWC really felt we were pulling the trigger on the deal. Sucks it didn’t happen, and that will probably bother me for awhile that we don’t know what happened (if it all went down as your sources suggested).

I know you pretty much said it in your thread, but to both you and ODWC, have your sources said it’s still possible at all now? Now that the original deadlines they gave you passed?

I haven't talked to him today... but I would imagine not.

That being said, if Kevin Pritchard is hired, or a new owner... who knows? Pritchard blew up the Blazers when he arrived, and a new owner may want to go with the cheaper Darren Collison (who's rookie numbers were remarkably similar to Chris Paul's)

[Proudiddy]

I hate the backup trade I've heard... so I hope it's not entertained.

It's Dampier to Detroit for Ben Gordon and Chris Wilcox.

Oh I meant to ask about the NJ and NY offers too.

[SWedd523]

I had already heard about the DET offer, I was more curious about the New Jersey one.

[jamestheaussie]

I had already heard about the DET offer, I was more curious about the New Jersey one.

Aah... that is a chapter to all of this I left out.

There are a lot of holes to it, but I was told early Wednesday morning that New Jersey found out about what the Bobcats were planning to do.

They wanted a written guarantee they could get Paul, and all the pieces it would take to consummate Paul and Melo trades in exchange for Devin Harris, Brook Lopez and a 1st round pick.

I see holes in it because:
A) Why would the Bobcats give all the pieces to the trade of a decade for less talented players and a 1st round pick?
B) I couldn't make any scenario work in a trade machine... they didn't have enough contracts.

The Detroit trade is the only backup deal I know of.

[jamestheaussie]

Oh I meant to ask about the NJ and NY offers too.

I never heard what NY offered, but same situation as NJ... they wanted in on the big deal, but didn't have enough pieces.

[GOBOBCATS24]

I can't believe we did everything your source told you would result in the completion of the trade and yet somehow it still fell through. Maybe the deals took longer to work out than expected? Hopefully you can talk to your source tomorrow and he will give you some juicy news.

[rsxnova]

From now on BCP shall be called Melrose Planet.

[Muttley]

For what it's worth, I don't think Okafor cannot be traded back to this team until after July 28th (or whatever exact date it was a year ago that we sent him to New Orleans). So, this deal couldn't happen until later this month anyway.

[kickazzz2000]

JtA...

You heard last week that Paul was untouchable, unattainable, etc...

ODWC heard that Shinn called the Bobcats and brought up a CP3 trade.


Based on your comparison of notes, what was the time frame of these two events. I'm assuming event 1 was pre Bower firing.

[kickazzz2000]

Another question:

From the RoF posts last night, it appears that JORDAN let this die, rather than vice-versa...was he playing hardball and trying to get more / give up less?

[ASChin]

CP3 and Carmelo to the Bobcats for Gerald, Boris and some expiring contracts???

That sounds great but my inside sources are telling me that it's actually going to be Nazr Mohammed and Derrick Brown to LA for Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. My source said that there's a 40% chance of the trade going down but only if Kobe waives his trade kicker.

Wait...

BREAKING:

InsideSources now confirm that OAKLAND has indeed contacted the Bobcats about a possible Theo Ratliff for a BASH BROTHERS swap. Deal is contingent on Jose Canseco not hurting anybody in the locker room.

InsideSources also claims that this is only one part of the multiple part trade that would also send Eduardo Najera and Matt Carroll to CINCY for the '70-'76 Big Red Machine.

Bobcats have other offers on the table for trading Dampier's expiring and Gana Diop and receiving Joe Montana, Wayne Gretzky, Pele or David Beckham.

[WAM9]

Thanks James. I appreciate the information.

To be honest with you guys, the timeline works pretty well and makes decent sense to me.
Good to hear that we are exploring all options and maybe, just maybe, we could still pull something off on this degree.

Either way, with Dampier's contract, we truly have a trade piece that gives us options.

I also agree that Okafor can't be traded back to us for 1 year (28th). That is correct, right?

[SWedd523]

Yes, I posted a week ago that we can't trade for him until late July as the 1 year time frame was still open.

[Muttley]

I also agree that Okafor can't be traded back to us for 1 year (28th). That is correct, right?
Yeah, did some research and he was traded July 28th, 2009.
However, Larry Coon's FAQ says this:

A team cannot reacquire a player they traded away during that season (a season being July 1 - June 30) unless the player has been waived.
So, I thought it was for one full year, but it looks like we may be wrong about the no-reacquiring.

[Demon DeaCat]

The only part of this scenario I just don't get is why would NO be asking for so little talent in return? Nazr, DJ and Henderson for Chris Paul? I get that we'd be doing them a favor by taking back Mek's bad deal, but you're losing CHRIS PAUL! They'd be giving up one of the top 5 players in the league for a 1st and 3 scrubs basically (no offense to our guys, but come on). I just don't see how that makes any sense at all. I would thnk they'd have at least asked for either Gerald or Jack. I'm not saying it didn't go down that way, but if they were willing to do that then they need to replace the Hornet in their logo wiith Spectre's avatar.

[Fred Williamson]

The only part of this scenario I just don't get is why would NO be asking for so little talent in return? Nazr, DJ and Henderson for Chris Paul? I get that we'd be doing them a favor by taking back Mek's bad deal, but you're losing CHRIS PAUL! They'd be giving up one of the top 5 players in the league for a 1st and 3 scrubs basically (no offense to our guys, but come on). I just don't see how that makes any sense at all. I would thnk they'd have at least asked for either Gerald or Jack. I'm not saying it didn't go down that way, but if they were willing to do that then they need to replace the Hornet in their logo wiith Spectre's avatar.

hell, they can have Jack instead of Henderson if they want to. Paul/Henderson/Anthony/Tyrus/Mek is still one hell of a lineup.

[jamestheaussie]

JtA...

You heard last week that Paul was untouchable, unattainable, etc...

ODWC heard that Shinn called the Bobcats and brought up a CP3 trade.


Based on your comparison of notes, what was the time frame of these two events. I'm assuming event 1 was pre Bower firing.

We haven't talked on this issue yet because I found out about Bower's part in this later.

From what I can tell the Calderon trade was a deal the Bobcats were settling for because they couldn't get Chris Paul. Monday night Charlotte got word that Bower was on his way out, and Jordan killed the trade with Toronto. It wasn't due to cold feet over money, or Larry Brown not liking Calderon... it was about going for the '2 in the bush' rather than the 'bird in the hand'.

I was told Tuesday that it was a 'gamble' by one of my sources... but I didn't really know what this meant. Now, I assume it meant that Charlotte's hunch was that without Bower, Paul was on the block.

[jamestheaussie]

Another question:

From the RoF posts last night, it appears that JORDAN let this die, rather than vice-versa...was he playing hardball and trying to get more / give up less?

As far as I know MJ did not kill the Chris Paul trade.

What I don't know was whether the Hornets backed out, or whether the league put a freeze on their transactions due to the Bower firing, and the Luther Head situation, which they were investigating.

[kickazzz2000]

As far as I know MJ did not kill the Chris Paul trade.

What I don't know was whether the Hornets backed out, or whether the league put a freeze on their transactions due to the Bower firing, and the Luther Head situation, which they were investigating.

The league better not have gotten all obama on us and restricted free enterprise... :biggrin:

[jamestheaussie]

The only part of this scenario I just don't get is why would NO be asking for so little talent in return? Nazr, DJ and Henderson for Chris Paul? I get that we'd be doing them a favor by taking back Mek's bad deal, but you're losing CHRIS PAUL! They'd be giving up one of the top 5 players in the league for a 1st and 3 scrubs basically (no offense to our guys, but come on). I just don't see how that makes any sense at all. I would thnk they'd have at least asked for either Gerald or Jack. I'm not saying it didn't go down that way, but if they were willing to do that then they need to replace the Hornet in their logo wiith Spectre's avatar.

I believe it was purely about money. Look at the Al Jefferson trade; the NBA is so obsessed with money and cap space that extremely good players can be had for not a lot (2 future 1sts and Kosta Koufos in this situation).

Obviously, Chris Paul is far better than Al Jefferson... but I think this is about a team looking to rebuild cheap, and young. Darren Collison's rookie numbers were almost dead equal to Chris Paul's, and when you get draft picks, a lottery pick SG, a lottery pick PG all while clearing a bunch of money in cap space.

Fast forward to next summer... if New Orleans makes this trade they have Darren Collison, Cole Aldrich and Pondexter to build around... Henderson too if they want to keep him. They also have two 1st round picks, two second round picks and only a little over $20 million in salary.

If you are going to rebuild with a new owner I can't imagine a much better scenario (short of OKC building around Durant).

[ammofan]

If we cant get Paul I would pull the trigger on a Arenas for Diaw/Diop swap

[ND22]

I...I believe you, and holy sh*t, if this happened. :o

[Scottley Crue]

I really like the effort by MJ and company to really vault the Bobcats into contention/major relevance. Who knows, maybe parts of these deals can still be worked out? Time will tell. I just know that MJ won't put this current roster out on the floor if he can help it.

I'm not in love with the backup plan James put out there, but I guess I'd be Ok with it because it'd open up Diaw/DJ/Henderson to be moved for a PG or C (or both). I do like the scoring punch Gordon would bring. I think we all know that more scoring is desperately needed. In any event, Dampier's contract is a major chip to work with and I do think the 'Cats can net some very useful pieces for it.

[catsandheels]

If we actually did get paul, and then melo tells denver he wants out is there anyway they could accuse us of tampering?

[Black]

I believe it was purely about money. Look at the Al Jefferson trade; the NBA is so obsessed with money and cap space that extremely good players can be had for not a lot (2 future 1sts and Kosta Koufos in this situation).

Obviously, Chris Paul is far better than Al Jefferson... but I think this is about a team looking to rebuild cheap, and young. Darren Collison's rookie numbers were almost dead equal to Chris Paul's, and when you get draft picks, a lottery pick SG, a lottery pick PG all while clearing a bunch of money in cap space.

Fast forward to next summer... if New Orleans makes this trade they have Darren Collison, Cole Aldrich and Pondexter to build around... Henderson too if they want to keep him. They also have two 1st round picks, two second round picks and only a little over $20 million in salary.

If you are going to rebuild with a new owner I can't imagine a much better scenario (short of OKC building around Durant).

they traded him to OKC

[BobCatsFanInTx]

I can see the possibility of getting Paul but there is no way Melo comes to Charlotte to join him. It just would not happen.::)

[Demon DeaCat]

I hate the backup trade I've heard... so I hope it's not entertained.

It's Dampier to Detroit for Ben Gordon and Chris Wilcox.

I can't see us staying over the luxury tax for Ben Gordon, especially coming off the year he had last year. I wouldn't mind having him in general, but I doubt he's the game changer that would make MJ be willing to pay the tax. I expect we'd just waive Dampier before we'd do that.

[jpf_v2.0]

Oddly enough, I think there's merit to what James heard. How he lays it all it, it has a ring of truth to it. The only part I find hard to believe is the Detroit back-up plan.

[jamestheaussie]

I can't see us staying over the luxury tax for Ben Gordon, especially coming off the year he had last year. I wouldn't mind having him in general, but I doubt he's the game changer that would make MJ be willing to pay the tax. I expect we'd just waive Dampier before we'd do that.

I agree. The problem with Detroit is that the players they are trying to unload are those we don't need (Hamilton, Prince, Gordon). Now, if they're willing to move Charlie Villanueva or Rodney Stuckey we can talk (provided someone takes Diaw), but no way to Detroit trade their best assets.

[GoBobs]

I have kind of felt all along that NO would wait to have a new GM in place to do anything.

[spectre]

James nice to have you over here and for laying this all out.

I thought Melo hated LB for the Olympics thing, but maybe playing with Paul and knowing he can't be coaching much longer make the difference.

If this could come to fruition it would be fantastic! Hopefully time's still on our side.

[Demon DeaCat]

I agree. The problem with Detroit is that the players they are trying to unload are those we don't need (Hamilton, Prince, Gordon). Now, if they're willing to move Charlie Villanueva or Rodney Stuckey we can talk (provided someone takes Diaw), but no way to Detroit trade their best assets.



I agree with you there, they'd have to be willing to take Diaw. There's no one on Detroit's roster that's worth sending them the Dampier chip and thus, putting us into LT territory, IMO.

The only trade I'd make with Det involving the players they're shopping is Diaw for Prince. I'm sure they wouldn't do that though. I have no interest in any of their long contracts. Do you have a sense of whether they have any interest in Diaw at all?

[jamestheaussie]

I agree with you there, they'd have to be willing to take Diaw. There's no one on Detroit's roster that's worth sending them the Dampier chip and thus, putting us into LT territory, IMO.

The only trade I'd make with Det involving the players they're shopping is Diaw for Prince. I'm sure they wouldn't do that though. I have no interest in any of their long contracts. Do you have a sense of whether they have any interest in Diaw at all?

Not that I'm aware of. My understanding is that Detroit wants expiring contracts and/or unload the bad ones they have. I think is was a huge misstep for Detroit to offer such a large contract to Ben Gordon without having a plan in place to move Richard Hamilton... now they have over $20 million of their cap committed to two almost identical players, both with 3 years left on their contracts.

I think if we're going to take on one of their truly bad contracts (Gordon or Rip) they have to take Diop's from us... but then the Bobcats reach a conundrum where they move yet another center.

The '5 spot freak out' as I call it when we rushed to get Nazr and Diop is now coming back to haunt us a little.

[Chef]

I agree with you there, they'd have to be willing to take Diaw. There's no one on Detroit's roster that's worth sending them the Dampier chip and thus, putting us into LT territory, IMO.

The only trade I'd make with Det involving the players they're shopping is Diaw for Prince. I'm sure they wouldn't do that though. I have no interest in any of their long contracts. Do you have a sense of whether they have any interest in Diaw at all?

haven't checked the salaries but some combo of damp, diaw, diop for monroe, gordon or rip (def want gordon), maxiell

[x2pacalypse]

do we really want to waste our salary on a 6th man considering our glaring needs at other positions?

ps honestly you should spread this rumor everywhereeeeee (just the cp3 one actually) so chris paul realizes he is trade bait and goes ahead and demands the trade

how sick would that be if the bobcats internet was solely responsible for bringing in chris paul?

[catsandheels]

Has your source given you any updates lately?

[GoBobs]

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/68208/20100717/hornets_hope_to_have_gm_by_next_week/

Last line says they have been holding off on any trades or free agent moves until they have a new gm.

[jamestheaussie]

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/68208/20100717/hornets_hope_to_have_gm_by_next_week/

Last line says they have been holding off on any trades or free agent moves until they have a new gm.

I haven't heard anything new... but if a new GM could openly shop Paul the Bobcats could be in a very, very good position.

Even if we aren't able to land Paul with a trade that a new general manager likes, we would likely be required to be a third team to bring Dampier's contract to the table (which New Orleans will likely want).

I'm looking at New Jersey. If they are able to try and put a package together for Paul, then I could definitely see us sending Dampier to New Orleans any maybe getting Devin Harris from the Nets... provided we aren't able to pull the trigger first.

So much of this depends on who's calling the shots for the Hornets, and right now I have no clue.

[bbh2020]

to confirm the above post about New Orleans, this last line may be what stalled the deal:

From ESPN Insider:

GM could be hired next week

7:15AM ET
New Orleans Hornets


Top (http://www.bobcatsplanet.com/vb/#TOP)
Email (http://www.bobcatsplanet.com/vb/#)



http://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nba/med/trans/nor.gif (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=nor) Hornets president Hugh Weber has been interviewing candidates for the general manager vacancy this week in Las Vegas and hopes to make a hire next week.
"We're not dilly-dallying around," Weber told The Times-Picayune (http://www.nola.com/hornets/index.ssf/2010/07/new_orleans_hornets_team_presi_1.html). "We're well down the path of recruiting and finding the right candidate. I've literally had back-to-back meetings with agents of potential candidates. Progress is something we understand that needs to be done quickly and I'm confident we can get this wrapped up quickly. I've had a full day every day since Tuesday."
"There is no front-runner at this point, but there are a lot of qualified candidates and certainly Kevin Pritchard (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=2710) is one of them," Weber said. "There is a lot of ways to build championship teams, we need to find and make sure that we seek out those people that are doing it in the philosophy that we have."
The Hornets will not make roster move until a general manager has been hired.

[UNCCatFan]

All of these developments seem to say to me that this deal is nowhere close to dead. There is no way that these negotiations got too far without all parties knowing that nothing would happen until the new gm was in place.

James, in your opinion is this option completely wash or do you think come monday or next week we could still pull this off. I would like to think that the front office has a handle on this and that maybe newer developments occured that your sources thought would be damaging to leak?

It may be wishful thinking but hearing what you had to tell us gave me much more faith in mj. Also i really appreciate what you have put into this. Thanks for sharing your info with all of us

[BIGCatBobcat]

Not that I'm aware of. My understanding is that Detroit wants expiring contracts and/or unload the bad ones they have. I think is was a huge misstep for Detroit to offer such a large contract to Ben Gordon without having a plan in place to move Richard Hamilton... now they have over $20 million of their cap committed to two almost identical players, both with 3 years left on their contracts.

I think if we're going to take on one of their truly bad contracts (Gordon or Rip) they have to take Diop's from us... but then the Bobcats reach a conundrum where they move yet another center.

The '5 spot freak out' as I call it when we rushed to get Nazr and Diop is now coming back to haunt us a little.

That was "Ham Biscuit's" deal wasn't it? I NEED A BIG! CAN'T WIN WITH OKAFOR AT CENTER! Ok, here's Diop.....I NEED A BIG! CAN'T WIN WITH DIOP!! Ok, here's Nazr Mohammed.....
I NEED A BIG! You need a big kick in the ass! out the door!

[Demon DeaCat]

Assuming this rumored trade is just stalled, pending NO hiring a GM, and not dead, I'm a little concerned about other teams trying to jump in on this. Both Cle and Tor have TPEs large enough to absorb Mek's salary. They could also package together enough expirings to cover CP's salary, essentially giving them the same deal we could. They also both have draft picks at their disposal that we don't have to offer.

The one thing in our favor is that, if given a choice, I'd have to think Chris would prefer to play here versus Cle or Tor, plus he'd certainly have a better supporting cast here than either of those places. I don't know how much his preference would factor in though.

[spectre]

FWIW this is the type of deal I totally see Jordan being all in with. He's the type to go for the contender and he'd have to be a total idiot not to be targeting probably the one superstar who'd be willing to come to Charlotte.

It's the little to middling trades he can't seem to avoid screwing us over on.

[UNCCatFan]

FWIW this is the type of deal I totally see Jordan being all in with. He's the type to go for the contender and he'd have to be a total idiot not to be targeting probably the one superstar who'd be willing to come to Charlotte.

It's the little to middling trades he can't seem to avoid screwing us over on.

True. i can't get it out of my head that there is no way that mike will let this go past him

[CatNation]

dont see why Shinn would do us a favor

[Muttley]

I think if New Orleans hires Pritchard then this trade will not happen.

[dvdbumpus]

dont see why Shinn would do us a favor

To save himself a buck!

[Demon DeaCat]

I think if New Orleans hires Pritchard then this trade will not happen.

I agree. Even if the directive from ownership is to trade Paul, I could see Pritchard's asking price being much higher than what was originally proposed.

[spectre]

I think if New Orleans hires Pritchard then this trade will not happen.

I just spent some time on Hornets' Report and they all seem confused on just who wants (or doesn't want) to trade Paul. At first it appears they thought Shinn would adamantly not trade him...think he said something to that affect...but now the Bower firing is bringing out rumors that Shinn is indeed the guy wanting to trade Paul and Bower got fired for not following thru on gauging interest.

They've been thinking the native guy who's in negotiations with Shinn would be the guy to keep Paul...but yet another article has came out saying HE wanted to see what they could get for him.

Their fans seem to think the relationship is broke bigtime (getting this from 'ol Harv...sure you remember him) and they don't seem confident even the new guy can mend the relationship.

If they feel sure he's gone in '12 then it makes all sorts of sense to look for something back now.

They might hire Pritchard...but I'd be shocked. He won't come cheap...and that's always been a requirement.

Isn't it kind of interesting that they fire their GM and look to hire another by next week when Shinn and the other guy is supposedly 20-30 million apart still? Think maybe Shinn is balking about selling again?

[jamestheaussie]

All of these developments seem to say to me that this deal is nowhere close to dead. There is no way that these negotiations got too far without all parties knowing that nothing would happen until the new gm was in place.

James, in your opinion is this option completely wash or do you think come monday or next week we could still pull this off. I would like to think that the front office has a handle on this and that maybe newer developments occured that your sources thought would be damaging to leak?

It may be wishful thinking but hearing what you had to tell us gave me much more faith in mj. Also i really appreciate what you have put into this. Thanks for sharing your info with all of us

No new developments.

At this point you all know as much as I do. I think anything is possible, but the ball is in the Hornet's court. They know what we have, they know what we're offering at it appears that they accepted it once.

Maybe Shinn is flip flopping on pulling the trigger, maybe a new owner insisted that he wouldn't buy the team without Paul on the roster?

While the Cavs and the Raptors have trade exceptions big enough to absorb the trade, what do they have that the Hornets would want?

The Raptors have too many point guards to know what to do with, and no good expiring contracts.

Cleveland could offer all their expiring contracts (if the goal is to save money) but they can only get up to $11 million, which is far less than Charlotte can offer. I haven't looked around the league, but from what I see we have more money that can potentially expire than any other team.

[UNCCatFan]

No new developments.

i just meant that article saying that they wouldnt make a move without a new gm

[spectre]

I haven't looked around the league, but from what I see we have more money that can potentially expire than any other team.

With the DUST chip we have to be right up there, but don't discount great young prospects and picks...which we're weak on in the former and pretty much without on the latter.

[Proudiddy]

With the DUST chip we have to be right up there, but don't discount great young prospects and picks...which we're weak on in the former and pretty much without on the latter.

Although to our credit, last year's draft may prove to be our best EVER. I think UPS has the potential to be Crash-like, but maybe even better because he came out of college with some form of a perimeter shot.

And Hendo has enormous potential as well. But, it's still only 2 young prospects.

[The Prodigy]

From CBSsports.com:
Hornets coach Monty Williams intends to sit down with Chris Paul "in the near future" to clear the air about anything that has CP3 upset with the organization.
"I want him to feel as excited as I am about where we’re going," Williams said. His attempts to placate the franchise MVP are laudable, but unless Monty himself can stretch defenses while playing SF and backup center, we doubt Paul will be too convinced.

Maybe he will ask for a trade? It seems like that meeting would be pretty pivotal in whether or not we are able to put together a trade for CP3.

[SirBobcat]

I think we all should be focused on Melo's contract situation. If he opts out, then I expect the dominoes to fall rather quickly. It seems to me that Melo wants to play with CP3 and if he denies all that money, then something must be brewing on his end to working on being in a better situation than Denver (which is what Charlotte would become if we traded for Melo and Paul)

Based on the potential deals...our roster would look like this:

C- Okafor/Diop
PF- Thomas/Brown
SF- Melo/Najera/McGuire
SG- Jackson/Carroll
PG- Paul/Livingston/Collins (i'm assuming he's a Bobcat)

12 man roster with 2-3 spots to fill. That's an awesome roster and he would totally dominate with that roster. The Athleticism of the Starting Lineup is flat out scary!

[jamestheaussie]

Over at RoF we have been rosterbating several backup plans we would love to see happen. We're basing this off an idea that New Orleans wants to just dump cap space, and is openly shopping Chris Paul.

Here is what I came up with, let me know what you think:

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=2f5smfb (http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=2f5smfb)

Draft picks also go to New Orleans from Denver.

It's a surefire way for Denver to make sure Carmelo would resign...

[ohara831]

I love that for Charlotte!

[SWedd523]

No way New Orleans does that deal

[Black]

or denver 10 characters

[BIGCatBobcat]

Assuming this rumored trade is just stalled, pending NO hiring a GM, and not dead, I'm a little concerned about other teams trying to jump in on this. Both Cle and Tor have TPEs large enough to absorb Mek's salary. They could also package together enough expirings to cover CP's salary, essentially giving them the same deal we could. They also both have draft picks at their disposal that we don't have to offer.

The one thing in our favor is that, if given a choice, I'd have to think Chris would prefer to play here versus Cle or Tor, plus he'd certainly have a better supporting cast here than either of those places. I don't know how much his preference would factor in though.

Ahh, the crux of the issue! How 2 things can really hurt the team with all this discussion (albeit on the fan level): 1) the initial leak and 2) the "reporting" and reaction to it.

What if, and this is like stupid thought but work with me, what if we killed this trade?

[jamestheaussie]

No way New Orleans does that deal

Even if Denver sent two future 1sts, a 2nd and we sent a 2nd?

[SirBobcat]

Ahh, the crux of the issue! How 2 things can really hurt the team with all this discussion (albeit on the fan level): 1) the initial leak and 2) the "reporting" and reaction to it.

What if, and this is like stupid thought but work with me, what if we killed this trade?

That would be ludicrous! Paul and Melo back to Charlotte for the package instantly puts a 3 headed monster in the Southwest division further cementing it as the toughest division in all of sports.

Also, it makes no sense in the sake of Jordan's investment (The Bobcats). It makes them a more lucrative organization and you better bet the farm that we'd sell out of seats within days of the trades being official.

[CatNation]

Sad thing is it would probably take Paul and Melo to consistently sell out TWC every night. Thats how bitter and hateful this area is towards NBA bball STILL

[pegsue123]

I just found this on the Charlotte Observer about CP3

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/07/17/1569144/chris-paul-in-a-bobcats-uniform.html

[BIGCatBobcat]

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/07/17/1569144/chris-paul-in-a-bobcats-uniform.html

Rick Bonnell, day late and a dollar short.

[Black]

Rick, just make register a user name, take a picture of yourself holding up a sign that says "I <3 BCP" and join us once and for all!

[Proudiddy]

Now, question is, did that just help or hurt the cause?

[Black]

i would say neither

[Proudiddy]

That's generally what I would say too black, but in this case, if the deal was already quietly worked on and almost agreed upon, I'm worried that it being picked-up in national media could jeopardize our leverage... What if the Nets turn around and offer Harris AND Lopez, plus picks...

[Black]

losing harris and the lopez plus picks makes the nets a lot worse in my opinion

[Proudiddy]

losing harris and the lopez plus picks makes the nets a lot worse in my opinion

Mine too, and I'm not sure Avery would allow it. But, with the way their off-season has went thus far, with so much cap room, I'm sure they would want to make a big name splash... I just don't know what price they'd be willing to pay for it.

[jamestheaussie]

Mine too, and I'm not sure Avery would allow it. But, with the way their off-season has went thus far, with so much cap room, I'm sure they would want to make a big name splash... I just don't know what price they'd be willing to pay for it.

I don't know how much more of a step back you can take if you're the Nets... and they would have to take back Okafor too... so I don't think it would be so bad.

That being said, only way I see the Nets making that trade is if they are 99% sure they can land Melo too, otherwise they just become the New Orleans Hornets in the East.

[UNCCatFan]

the reason that we are so attractive for the hornets is the unguarunteed money and our expiring contacts

[rsxnova]

the reason that we are so attractive for the hornets is the unguarunteed money and our expiring contacts

We have finaly become the leader of something. Lets hope it pays off.

[Demon DeaCat]

the reason that we are so attractive for the hornets is the unguarunteed money and our expiring contacts


True, but Cle and Tor's TPEs will achieve the same end as an unguaranteed contract, and they have expirings too. Besides, I don't think they're just looking for expirings. If they're semi-rebuilding, they're also interested in cheap, young talent. Cle could offer Hickson, and Tor could send DeRozan. Those guys are better than DJ and Hendo. Granted, they don't necessarily need DeRozan since they have Thornton, but he'd be a great trade piece. And Hickson would be great insurance for them in the event West opts out. Not to mention the draft pick issue, where we would certainly lose out.

We may be in the drivers seat for the time being, but I wonder if we'll stay there once these other teams get involved, and there's no question they will be involved if CP is truly on the market.

[spectre]

PS: I again want to apologize that my naivety about just how far reaching one rumor can go and effect so many people. I originally isolated all of this to one blog, and now I am simultaneously posting this on Rufus On Fire, and Bobcats Planet as a gesture of good will so people might believe I didn't share any of my information merely for website.

What...some were implying that you made up the trade just to get more web hits for RoF? :rolleyes:

We all hear things, and of course we want to share them with others that have similar interests. I'm amazed (well, maybe not) that anyone would think of something like that.

Esp. after guys like DJ's future brother in law came in making crap up trying to promote his guy have graced this forum. That's what someone with an agenda looks like.

[Zoolander]

PS: I again want to apologize that my naivety about just how far reaching one rumor can go and effect so many people. I originally isolated all of this to one blog, and now I am simultaneously posting this on Rufus On Fire, and Bobcats Planet as a gesture of good will so people might believe I didn't share any of my information merely for website.

Hey, it's all good auss. We are a pretty damned determined breed of fans. Still it made for perhaps the most interesting week ever since I've been visiting this site. I wonder what the "back ups" could be? Do you think Damp will be traded or released? Sorry if this has already been asked....

[jamestheaussie]

Hey, it's all good auss. We are a pretty damned determined breed of fans. Still it made for perhaps the most interesting week ever since I've been visiting this site. I wonder what the "back ups" could be? Do you think Damp will be traded or released? Sorry if this has already been asked....

Personally, I think he'll be traded. Outside of the Gordon/Wilcox trade I haven't heard of the other ones on the table.

I don't have an source on this, but my hunch is the Bobcats will wait for New Orleans to get a new GM and have another crack at finishing the trade.

[Weezy21]

I believe it was purely about money. Look at the Al Jefferson trade; the NBA is so obsessed with money and cap space that extremely good players can be had for not a lot (2 future 1sts and Kosta Koufos in this situation).

Obviously, Chris Paul is far better than Al Jefferson... but I think this is about a team looking to rebuild cheap, and young. Darren Collison's rookie numbers were almost dead equal to Chris Paul's, and when you get draft picks, a lottery pick SG, a lottery pick PG all while clearing a bunch of money in cap space.

Fast forward to next summer... if New Orleans makes this trade they have Darren Collison, Cole Aldrich and Pondexter to build around... Henderson too if they want to keep him. They also have two 1st round picks, two second round picks and only a little over $20 million in salary.

If you are going to rebuild with a new owner I can't imagine a much better scenario (short of OKC building around Durant).

my exact thought when I was reading all this...i know losing paul would suck for new orleans, but a young nucleus of collison, thorton, hendrson and aldrich with a TON of cap room would be awesome! obviously cp3 is leaving...so y wouldnt you want to try an build ur team like the thunder have

[amour217]

The Bobcats version of Y2K...

[Black]

my exact thought when I was reading all this...i know losing paul would suck for new orleans, but a young nucleus of collison, thorton, hendrson and aldrich with a TON of cap room would be awesome! obviously cp3 is leaving...so y wouldnt you want to try an build ur team like the thunder have

Like I said earlier, they traded Aldrich to OKC on draft night, so that's one key young member of the core that isn't there.

[Weezy21]

True, but Cle and Tor's TPEs will achieve the same end as an unguaranteed contract, and they have expirings too.

I see what ur saying, but that only makes since for new orleans side of it. Yu have to also think about it from chris paul's stand point. Lets say he does get traded to cleveland or toronto:

1)Paul would most likely hate playing there
2)He wouldn't sign an extension unless they got melo
3)According to James, in order for us to get melo, we would be trading them GERALD WALLACE...please tell me who the cavs or raptors have to offer that would be better than wallace??
4)Yes NY would probably be more fun to live in then charlotte, but right now we have WAY more to offer both the hornets and nuggets
5)Team Jordan would reach new heights and MJ knows this...i am convinced MJ will keep this trade idea alive until Damp's 60 days are up

maybe im just being to optimistic...but at the same time we all know how competitive MJ is...and like i said, our offer to new orleans gives them a clean slate and helps them rebuild like the Thunder

[dvdbumpus]

If Wallace was traded for Chris Paul, who would play the 2, 3, and 4? Would it be:

2 - Henderson
3 - Jax
4 - Thomas/Diaw (may be traded still)

or:

2 - Jax
3 - Diaw
4 - Thomas

or:

2: Jax or new player
3: new player or Jax
4: Thomas or Diaw

What would we do in this situation?

[Weezy21]

If Wallace was traded for Chris Paul, who would play the 2, 3, and 4?

if we traded away wallace for cp3, u can almost guarantee we wouldnt be getting melo...which would also mean i doubt we would trade for cp3 in the first place...if melo doesnt come here, cp3 would just bolt to NY when his contract is up...so basically we would have just traded wallace for a 1 or 2 year rental

bad idea

[BobCatsFanInTx]

From a poster on an article involving CP3 to Charlotte on the Bleacher Report website.

Mike Elton posted 4 days ago
I would like to inform you that Dallas has been hammering New Orleans about Chris Paul for two years now, actually as recently as Tuesday.The chip they wanted to use to get Paul was the very same Erick Dampier contract that Charlotte has now.

Also the Bobcats can't top a Mavs offer of Roddy Beaubois/3 1st rounders/Major cap relief, so i doubt CP3 goes there

Cuban even contacted the Hornets after Bower was fired and inquired about CP3, and when he learned that they still had NO motivation to trade him, they went ahead and traded for Chandler/Ajinca.

I guarantee you that if Mark Cuban would of thought it was still realistically possible to get CP3 during this summer he would of saved all his trade pieces and tried to wait and make the deal.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/420314-chris-paul-to-charlotte-could-a-deal-be-in-the-works

The only thing I can think of is that NO held off on taking Dallas's offer due to CP3's desire to come to play for MJ and the Bobcats. I know that NO's new coach has had talks with CP3 to make him feel better about being in NO but whether CP3 wants to remain in NO remains to be seen. NO is sitting pretty in the fact that they do have great depth at pg. So if CP3 signs off on a trade I can easily see NO dealing him and building for the future.

[Proudiddy]

From a poster on an article involving CP3 to Charlotte on the Bleacher Report website.

Mike Elton posted 4 days ago
I would like to inform you that Dallas has been hammering New Orleans about Chris Paul for two years now, actually as recently as Tuesday.The chip they wanted to use to get Paul was the very same Erick Dampier contract that Charlotte has now.

Also the Bobcats can't top a Mavs offer of Roddy Beaubois/3 1st rounders/Major cap relief, so i doubt CP3 goes there

Cuban even contacted the Hornets after Bower was fired and inquired about CP3, and when he learned that they still had NO motivation to trade him, they went ahead and traded for Chandler/Ajinca.

I guarantee you that if Mark Cuban would of thought it was still realistically possible to get CP3 during this summer he would of saved all his trade pieces and tried to wait and make the deal.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/420314-chris-paul-to-charlotte-could-a-deal-be-in-the-works

The only thing I can think of is that NO held off on taking Dallas's offer due to CP3's desire to come to play for MJ and the Bobcats. I know that NO's new coach has had talks with CP3 to make him feel better about being in NO but whether CP3 wants to remain in NO remains to be seen. NO is sitting pretty in the fact that they do have great depth at pg. So if CP3 signs off on a trade I can easily see NO dealing him and building for the future.

Yeah IDK if Williams supposedly already sat down with CP, but according to CP3 and his twitter, he was in D.C. yesterday, so I imagine he hasn't had much time to sit down and talk with Williams. I just really hope CP tells New Orleans front office that he wants a trade, and he wants to go to Charlotte. PERIOD.

[Ampsportsduo]

It would much harder for Dallas to get a MVP candidate like CP3 from the Hornets because they are in the same division and therefore would be competing for playoffs spots against each other as well as playing each other much more often. Can you imagine the Magic trading D-Ho to us or us sending Crash to them? That's the equivalent.

Glad James has been treated with much more kindness when discussing the team's very real interest in bringing CP3 in.

[Proudiddy]

It would much harder for Dallas to get a MVP candidate like CP3 from the Hornets because they are in the same division and therefore would be competing for playoffs spots against each other as well as playing each other much more often. Can you imagine the Magic trading D-Ho to us or us sending Crash to them? That's the equivalent.

Glad James has been treated with much more kindness when discussing the team's very real interest in bringing CP3 in.

This is my hope as well, that being in the same division and NO having to play against CP3 for the next however many years was the hang-up. I just really hope we can swing a deal for him.

And honestly, it's been discussed everywhere, and I believe Bonnell may have written a blurb on it earlier in the off-season but I can't remember - the article I'm talking about was about how team's tend to overvalue their own players and undervalue other team's players so it's hard to agree on it... Anyway, in Bonnell's defense of his CP3 article, he could be right as far as what it would take to get Paul. Perhaps we are overvaluing our guys and undervaluing CP, as unbelievable as that may seem.

We don't want to give up Crash to get him, but honestly, do you see the Hornets accepting anything less when they turned down Roddy Beaubois plus multiple 1st rounders?? Aside from being in the same division, Beaubois looked amazing towards the end of the year, in some games he looked better than Collison. So just something to marinate on...

[GoBobs]

Dallas fans will tell you Roddy is going to be great ect ect, but the fact is he is a 6 foot guard that has a turnover as often as he has an assist. First round picks from a team like Dallas or any team expected to win aren't all that valuable. Roddy wouldn't play in front of Collison or Thorton so does NO really need him that badly. If I am NO I would rather have DJ as a backup, Gerald Henderson as a starter at the 3, and Brown as another cheap backup as a 3/4. If we were willing to trade Crash, which I hope we aren't, that is way better then Roddy.

[SWedd523]

Roddy is going to be better than Gerald, UPS, and DJ. He's also better than Thornton and I'd put him right up there with Collison.

[millst2]

I would hope that we dont deal crash. Wake is my college and they may not churn out a lot of NBA superstars but the most recent 2 Timmy D and CP3 makes me really want cp3 in charlotte. From my hometown. Jeff Teague is yet to be decided on, but he looks promising, but back on point.

The issue I see that works in our favor is that we do have young players that we can ship out along with damps contract. To me having 2 guys in UPS and Hendo is more valuable than a future 1st as our guys are semi proven. The cap space Damp frees up makes it a solid trade for the long term future of NO and makes the sell of their franchise easier to swallow as they have a young nucleus to build around in collison, brown and hendo.

CP3 wants to play in his home state and for jordan, our offer is more solid than bobo and a few 1sts.

[jamestheaussie]

I disagree with the Dallas fan's assesment.

Yes, Beaubois is talented and better than Augustin, but he's not an expiring contract.

Both Deej and Hendo represent players who New Orleans could choose to keep, or let them go. If someone with Beaubois' talent played, say, center or SF... then I see the value; but, if New Orleans would entertain offers for Paul then it's reasonable to assume that they love Darren Collison (and rightfully so). Why would they want another prospect at PG?

I think whatever talent gap is there between Augustin and Beaubois is more than made up for with the addition of Gerald Henderson. Also, Dallas isn't just a conference rival they're a DIVISION rival. I definitely see why they wouldn't want to trade Paul to Dallas unless there are no other options.

[bbh2020]

DJ is also a local kid to NO which might help with ticket sales. That would help ease burden of losing CP3 as well. He's not going to be as big of a draw as CP3, but he would draw more than say Roddy B. He would also serve as an excellent back up to Collison.

[Fred Williamson]

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/features/rumors?&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba %2ffeatures%2frumors#17433

any ESPN insiders who could summarize it?

[Scottley Crue]

I disagree with the Dallas fan's assesment.

Yes, Beaubois is talented and better than Augustin, but he's not an expiring contract.

Both Deej and Hendo represent players who New Orleans could choose to keep, or let them go. If someone with Beaubois' talent played, say, center or SF... then I see the value; but, if New Orleans would entertain offers for Paul then it's reasonable to assume that they love Darren Collison (and rightfully so). Why would they want another prospect at PG?

I think whatever talent gap is there between Augustin and Beaubois is more than made up for with the addition of Gerald Henderson. Also, Dallas isn't just a conference rival they're a DIVISION rival. I definitely see why they wouldn't want to trade Paul to Dallas unless there are no other options.
I agree with you, especially in regards to trading a superstar within your own division. If Paul wants out or NO trades him, it would appear the thing they'd want in return is "erase-able" salary and some young talent. I know Bonnell mentioned Crash, and even though his salary is a very reasonable one, I would think NO wouldn't want to commit to it if drastically reducing salary comitments is the goal. Having DJ to back up Collison and Henderson to be an athletic sparkplug off the bench looks good to me, but then again, I might be biased...

[TheLegend]

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/features/rumors?&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba %2ffeatures%2frumors#17433

any ESPN insiders who could summarize it?

Someone please do so, I must know what they say too.

[Black]

Probably rehashing the Bonnell article. Insider is garbage.

[unc12003]

yep its just a paragraph from the Observer article

[bbh2020]

here it is:

Chris Paul (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=2779) is "open" to a trade and Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/07/17/1569144/chris-paul-in-a-bobcats-uniform.html) thinks there is a remote chance the All-Star point guard could land with the Bobcats.

Bonnell writes: "But it's doable, and I'm told it's a twinkle in the eyes of this team's decision-makers. There are a handful of places Paul would want to relocate in a trade, and Charlotte -- near his suburban Winston-Salem home and possessing a Hall-of-Fame coach -- should be among the viable candidates. ... Any respectable offer would have to include a combination of Erick Dampier (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=181)'s unguaranteed $13 million salary, plus Gerald Wallace (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=1026)'s All-Star ability, plus a bunch of picks and maybe Gerald Henderson (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=3993) and/or D.J. Augustin (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=3415) to even be in the running." Hornets head coach Monty Williams (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=924) is planning to meet (http://proxy.espn.go.com/nba/features/rumors/_/filter/team/id/3#17416) with Paul in the near future to discuss his status with the team.

[kickazzz2000]

ha...read the last paragraph

http://www.fanfeedr.com/nba/2010/07/19/winderman-jordan-would-to-have-called-magic-and-bird-he-wanted-t

[spectre]

ha...read the last paragraph

http://www.fanfeedr.com/nba/2010/07/19/winderman-jordan-would-to-have-called-magic-and-bird-he-wanted-t

Tho there's only 4 the comments are pro Jordan.

Maybe Ira's read the "rumblings".

[Ampsportsduo]

As for Roddy, he's a good PG when he's surrounded by talent. He looked terrible against John Wall in summer league and if teams are focused on stopping him, his production suffers. Some PGs can handle that attention and even use it to their advantage, but I don't see him as being in that class.