NBA Rumors: Why Chris Paul and LeBron James Will Not Be In New Jersey Next Year

According to Chad Ford of ESPN the New Orléans Hornets are not interested in trading all-star point guard Chris Paul despite interest from several teams around the league, most notably the Orlando Magic .

There is no word about what the Magic would intend to offer but it doesn't really matter, Chris Paul is the franchise, plain and simple. Prior to an injury plagued 2009-2010 season Chris Paul was most arguably the best point guard in the league. He averaged 18.7 points, 10.7 assists and 2.1 steals in just 45 games.

The Hornets are in a financial fix and do pay Paul, 13 million and change a season. They do however have other big contracts like David West (nine million) and Emeka Okafor (10.7 million) that they could potentially shed.

In a league of point guards, New Orléans does seem to have two legitimate floor generals in Paul and Darren Collison , who in his rookie season made spectacular play after spectacular play. But Collison has been the subject of various trade rumors including a deal with the Indiana Pacers . Why would they trade away both young blossoming point guards? Only if Donald Sterling owned the team.

Another aspect of this rumor is the LeBron Effect . For example, let us speculate for a moment the possibility of the New Jersey Nets. If a deal involving Chris Paul for the No. 3 pick in Thursday's draft and Nets' point guard Devin Harris were to arise, could that potentially help Nets' owner Mikhail Prokhorov and head coach Avery Johnson land LeBron?

Most of this seems a bit far-fetched, why would the Hornets give up a superstar for a less talented point guard and a high pick in a weak draft? These type of questions will run rampant leading up to the NBA Draft and the start of free agency come July, only then will they be answered.