...... During LeBron James’ last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Cavs had incredible fear he would leave as a free agent. They had no choice but to privately discuss the possibility of getting an unprecedented package for trading him. Yet, it didn’t take long to internally decide that even if he did plan to leave, Cavs officials didn’t want to be remembered as the management team who traded LeBron James away.
Even if the Cavs had painfully accurate information on his plans to exit, they still couldn’t do it. After all, James could’ve simply said, “Hey, I was never going to leave. They traded me.” And he would’ve been out of harm’s way forever in Cleveland. Carmelo Anthony made the Denver Nuggets’ life miserable after his trade demand, because his bad practice and shooting habits became worse a year ago. That was a long four months in Denver, and the Nuggets couldn’t wait until he walked out the door to the Knicks.
With Paul, that won’t happen in New Orleans. The Hornets don’t want a long soap-opera season, and that’s why Demps won’t waste time trying to sell Paul on staying until the trade deadline. Paul will probably let Demps know his intentions face-to-face, possibly as soon as Monday, and the GM will be right back on the phone searching out a deal. It probably won’t be long until Howard makes himself completely clear too: Get me out, send me West.
In the end, the Magic and Hornets will be searching for teams that can satisfy Paul’s and Howard’s desire for a championship contender, and that list is painfully short when you consider those with the players and assets to fulfill the return on the trade. It won’t be New York, but 3,000 miles away, in Los Angeles, where the Lakers are forever searching for a twentysomething star to be the next in line, where the race to trade Chris Paul and Dwight Howard for a package centered around Andrew Bynum has all but officially started.