I'm leaving on a jet plane.

The Knicks did not get Chris Paul as they had hoped and the rumors ran wild with how Chris Paul would come to the Knicks including trading Amare for Chris Paul!! Well, the Knicks certainly did well as they picked up a 29 year old who has just won a title with the Mavericks and was the anchor to their defense in Tyson Chandler. Hopefully, the idea of defense will rub off on Knicks Coach "Antoni" (no D in his name till he coaches D). How this will affect the Knicks this season will be written in a upcoming blog. 

On Dec, 1st a person I personally admire among the nba writers/reporters/bloggers, J.A. Adande, tweetd me that my idea of Billups on the Alanta Hawks in a 3 team trade for Paul to the Knicks wouldn't work because Billups wouldn't work on a  young team. I understand why he suggested this, however, it's looking like a veteran with a championship and nba finals MVP is going to work out nicely on a very young LA Clippers team. Nonetheless, I highly suggest you follow J.A. Adande on twitter as he is one of the best informed NBA insiders and his suit game is pretty serious (Wait, till I get there Adande!). 

LA belonged to the Clippers as soon as the Clippers got Chris Paul from the Hornets for Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu and the Timberwolves 2012 1st round pick. A few days before that trade, the Clippers picked up Chauncey Billups off waivers after the Knicks let him go to get Tyson Chandler. 

Now the Clippers have a backcourt that can both play defense, push the ball, and throw alley-oops to Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan, who signed for 4 years for $43 million matching the offer sheet given to Jordan via Golden State. Los Angeles or Lob Angeles? It's gonna be fun.

While there was a lot of excitement in the trades, rumors and signings during a crazy two weeks of transactions, let us take a moment to wish Jeff Green best of luck as he will miss the season in order to have heart surgery on Jan. 9. Green is a very young 25 years old with a bright future and a grim reminder of how quickly life can change on us. Wishing him the best on his surgery ,recovery and  a return to the court. 

Obviously we have so many transactions to comment on, but these 3 for me stuck out the most. 

The other notable transactions:

Baron Davis is now a Knick. Vince Carter and Larmar Odom give the Mavs some names after losing some names (Chandler, Butler), Jamal Crawford signed with the Trailblazers, Mehmet Okur got traded to the Nets, David West is now a Pacer making an underdog earn a bigger bite, Bulls have a shooter in Richard Hamilton, J.J. Barrea joined the Timberwolves because three starting point guards is the new thing for 2012, Boston traded their under-achieving PF Glen Davis for Orlando's under-achieving PF Brandon Bass, Shane Battier goes to the Heat, thus the "Heatles" are complete. Who's Ringo?

Unpack your bags, fellas. NBA calls off Chris Paul Trade

Oops

So now it's being reported that the 3 way trades between the Rockets/Lakers/Hornets has been called off.

For those who were not aware the New Orleans Hornets are owned , for now, by the NBA and teams felt it was unfair for the NBA to allow the Lakers to get a superstar when they already have a big name players.

So now what? Stay tuned......(and look out for a lot of false rumors)

Pay It Forward. Kwame Brown spawned Pau Gasol and now Chris Paul, wow!

Amazing to think that obtaining Kwame Brown has spawned Paul Gasol, some rings, and now Chris Paul.

The NBA , where amazing happens huh?!

Nothing Lasts Forever (Chris Paul to Lakers, Odom/Gasol traded away)

About an hour ago, Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Lakers are very close to picking up Chris Paul in a 3 tream trade.

Hmm, a 3 team trade to obtain Chris Paul.... sounds familiar, don't it?!!

Here's how it breaks down

to the Lakers: Chris Paul
to the Rockets: Pau Gasol
to the Hornets: Lamar Odom, Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, Goran Dragic , some picks may be included.

If this trade goes through, I see the Hornets as the strongest team and the biggest winner. They have added a player who gets buckets with ease (Martin) , a player with championship experience (Odom) and one of the best post players in the league (Scola) Here you have a team that resolved it's issues with it's star player before training camps open tomorrow. This is the correct way to do this,

THIS IS NOT

3 The Hard Way! Report: Chris Paul asks for trade to NYC, but how?

After awhile , it can get embarrassing, reading other sites/blogs as they repeat the same old lines and repackaging them like they are new. As I pointed out in a previous post on this very blog, Chris Paul wants to be a Knick and has felt this way for quite a long time.

Now we have a report from the New York Daily News that Chris Paul has asked the Hornets to make a trade to the Knicks happen. However, this is old news, let's get to the good stuff.

HOW?

It has to be a three team trade. There has to be a third team that wants to shake up their roster to take on Billups contract (and perhaps one more) so they can have cap space following this season.

Here's the cast for this soap opera and the possible solutions that have not been considered as of  yet.

First, the players
New Orleans Hornets: Chris Paul has an opt-out option after this season.
New York Knicks: Chancey Billups ; gets paid 14 million this year and then his contract expires.

Second: the hidden pieces
New York Knicks: Ronny Turiaf; gets paid just under 5 million this year; contract expires after this season

Potentially, the Knicks have nearly 20 million worth of players to give up to a team that needs cap space for next year. Now what team needs to blow up their roster and may have something worth passing along to the Hornets as far as players/picks.

Third: Teams that have players to give up that match the contracts they take back

Atlanta Hawks:
Josh Smith/Kirk Hinrich to the Hornets; Chauncey Billups/Ronny Turiaf to the Hornets, Chris Paul to the Knicks

Josh Smith: 12.4 million signed till 2012-2013, Kirk Hinrich: 8 million free agent after this season.
Chaunecy Billups: 14.2 million free agent after this season. Ronny Turiaf 4.36 mil free agent after this season

The Hawks would have a PG in Billups, Joe Johnson at the SG and Al Horford at PF and Turiaf at Center. Billups and Turiaf contract ends after this season and the Hawks can go shopping for a new pg/Center or maybe even keep Billups with their MLE and still have room for new free agents.

The Hornets get a young defensive minded player who has been waiting to be the man in Josh Smith and Kirk Hinrich is an experienced PG who's contract ends after this season. Two years to try out Josh Smith, Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor as a strong front court is better than watching Chris Paul walk off to the Knicks for nothing.

Memphis Grizzlies
Rudy Gay to the Hornets; Chauncey Billups (need a second contract , perhaps Balkman) to the Grizzlies, Chris Paul to the Knicks

Rudy Gay;15 mil signed till 2015-2016

Rudy Gay is owed 15 mil and signed till 2014-2015 and a supreme talent. However, the Grizzlies showed they could do a lot of damage without Rudy Gay. This way Grizzlies get a veteran PG in Billups to help Memphis make another push this year and then have more cap space next year after Billups contract expires. The Hornets get a strong player in Gay who can put up points fast and the idea of Ariza and Gay on defense together could be a scary one for the league.

Milwaukee Bucks
Andre Bogut, Shaun Livingston or Carlos Delfino to the Hornets; Chauncey Billups to the Bucks, Chris Paul to the Knicks


Andrew Bogut: 12.1 million this year; signed thru 2013-2014

Andrew Bogut was the number one pick for the Bucks several  years ago and while he has a good career, a change of scenery may be a good idea. Hornets get a young center to create a scary line-up of Bogut, Okafor and Ariza. Billups can be a mentor for the talented but somewhat reckless Brandon Jennings, while adding a veteran presence. Once Billups contract ends after the season, the Bucks will have a lot more cap space than they would with Bogut still signed to them.

While their a lot of other crazy scenarios, these are what I found to be most beneficial to all teams involved. Plus the teams I mentioned have been in the rumors of other sites/blogs for a possible trade.

Overall, I see the Hawks trade as the best one for the Hornets. Smith with Okafor and Ariza for two solid years (injuries notwithstanding) could really be something. Get the right free agent pick-up or draft pick and the Hornets may really have something.

Thoughts?