The Big Easy Trade Roulette: Best Bets for Chris Paul Deal

While it has been reported that Chris Paul wishes to take his talents to Disney World to play for the Orlando Magic, at the end of the day it's whatever his current team, the New Orleans Hornets can get in return that would satisfy both sides.

The teams Chris Paul wants to play for besides his Hornets are the Orlando Magic, New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, and Dallas Mavericks. In order for New Orleans to take a gamble and give in to Paul's demands, they'll have to take a look at landscape and see what possible assets they can obtain in return for CP3.

Orlando Magic

First Stop: Orlando

Trade Assets: Brandon Bass, Vince Carter, Jameer Nelson

Orlando doesn't have the realistic trade assets that the Hornets would want in a deal for Paul and ideally would have to involve a third team into the mix. If Paul were to enter the picture, it would make Nelson and perhaps Carter expendable. One team that makes sense as the third team is the Golden State Warriors and here is the possible trade:

Orlando
Gets: Chris Paul
Gets: Emeka Okafor
Gets: Vladimir Radmonovic

New Orleans
Gets: Brandon Wright
Gets: Monta Ellis
Gets: Ryan Anderson
Gets: First Round Draft pick from ORL and Pair of 2nd Round Picks from GSW

Golden State Warriors
Gets: Jameer Nelson
Gets: Vince Carter

New Orleans would want to unload Okafor along with Chris Paul since they would be rebuilding. In this three team trade, Golden State would acquire the Magics' Vince Carter and Jameer Nelson. Their lineup would consist of (Nelson, Curry, Carter, Lee, Biedrins) which would rival the top dogs in the West and unload them of Ellis' hefty contract. It would give Don Nelson a chance to have a competitive squad and give them a two year window with Nelson and Carter having that much left on their contracts.

The Magic would acquire their new star point guard (Chris Paul) and Emeka Okafor along with a throw in in Vladimir Radmonovic from Golden State. Orlando would have a lineup of (Paul-Redick-Lewis-Okafor-Howard) and it would cause trouble for the Miami Heat in the division.

New Orleans would acquire another young star in Monta Ellis who averaged just over 25 PPG last season, Brandon Wright who would replace Okafor as well as Ryan Anderson from the Magic. Additionally, the Hornets woudl obtain draft considerations in the way of draft picks from both the Magic and Warriors. Still, the Hornets would have one of the better backcourts in Collison and Ellis; and with Thornton, Wright, West, and Gray, this team may surprise some.

New York Knicks

Second Stop: New York

Trade Assests: Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Bill Walker, Eddy Curry

Unlike Orlando, New York has the pieces in place to pull off a deal straight up without having a third wheel to get it done. Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler are the top pieces New York has to offer and the "Rooster" is most likely to be dealt than Chandler. Here is the more possible trade that New Orleans would pull off:

New York
Gets: Chris Paul
Gets: Emeka Okafor

New Orleans
Gets: Danilo Gallinari
Gets: Eddy Curry
Gets: Ronny Turiaf
Gets: Bill Walker
Gets: Sign and Trade player from NY
(to make salaries work in deal)
Gets: A pair of 1st Round Draft Picks

For New Orleans, it would mean getting a promising player with great upside in Gallinari who has the potential to be a 20-10 threat like a Dirk Nowitzki with his three point scoring ability. They would unload Okafor for an expiring contract in Curry to allow them to rebuild in their own form and acquire a few others in Turiaf and Walker to fill out the roster and satisfy the deal. The trade would work wonders for The Big Easy and they'll have plenty of room to build for the future.

For New York, they would obtain Paul and Okafor and have a bit of logjam at the forward spot. The Knicks acquired Anthony Randolph in the David Lee deal but could place Randolph at small foward, Okafor at power foward or center alternating with Amar'e Stoudamire. Chris Paul and Wilson Chandler would fill out the rest of the roster would be a bit oversized but efficient. Even though the Knicks would have dealt their promising young stud in Gallinari, it opens the door for Carmelo Anthony's possible arrival next offseason. In any scenario, the Knicks would prefer to deal Chandler over Gallinari but it may not happen that way.

Portland Trail Blazers

Third Stop: Portland

Trade Assets: Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez, Andre Miller, Jerryd Bayless, and Joel Pryzbilla

Portland is another team that has enough on the roster to pull of a trade without a possible third team getting in involved. The Blazers would essentially have to deal the kitchen sink to acquire Paul and have to take in Peja Stojakovic's expiring contract as well. Here's the deal that makes sense for Portland to pull and New Orleans to make happen:

Portland
Gets: Chris Paul
Gets: Peja Stojakovic

New Orleans
Gets: Greg Oden
Gets: Andre Miller
Gets: Jerryd Bayless
Gets: Rudy Fernandez
Gets: Joel Pryzbilla
Gets: Future 1st Round Pick

This is exactly the kind of deal New Orleans would like for Chris Paul. They would obtain a rebuilding project with a hint of veterans in Andre Miller and Joel Pryzbilla and have young stars in Collison, Bayless, former first pick Greg Oden, and Marcus Thornton. The downside is that Oden hasn't yet shown he has been the player everyone thought he would be because of nagging injuries and he is essentially the centerpiece of this deal. Yet all trades are a gamble and New Orleans would have to make one with Oden. Additionally, Emeka Okafor would remain with New Orleans and perhaps make David West expendable throughout the regular season.

For Portland, their roster would rival a team like the Lakers in the West with a backcourt of Chris Paul and Brandon Roy with Batum/Stojakovic at small forward, LaMarcus Aldridge at power forward, and Marcus Camby at center. It would make them title contenders in the West but they'll have to surpass Los Angeles, Dallas, and Denver to do it.

Dallas Mavericks

Fourth and Final Stop: Dallas

Trade Assets: Rodrigue Beaubois, Jason Terry, JJ Barea, DeShawn Stevenson, Caron Butler

Dallas has a few trade chips needed for a Chris Paul and at the end of the day it may not be quite what New Orleans would want. That said Dallas is a last resort scenario for two reasons. A: Dallas doesn't have quite the pieces needed to get the deal done and B: Dallas is in the same division as the New Orleans Hornets. Anyways here is the best bet for a Chris Paul to Dallas deal:

Dallas
Gets: Chris Paul

New Orleans
Gets: Jason Terry
Gets: Rodrigue Beaubois
Gets: JJ Barea
Gets: Pair of 1st Round Draft Picks

New Orleans could always deal a Emeka Okafor for young players and/or draft picks but since this is a single player move you aren't going to get a whole lot back. Rodrigue Beaubois is a promising talent and Jason Terry a bit of a stopgap at shooting guard. This trade enables the Hornets to at least compete and not totally rebuild from scratch.

The interesting aspect is on Dallas' side with a rotation that would include both Chris Paul and Jason Kidd along with Butler, Marion, Nowitzki and Haywood. I suspect Paul to be more of a shooting guard while Kidd is on the court but both will provide headaches to any team in the league. This move makes them an instant title contender in the West.