NBA Trade Rumors: Why LeBron James Will Help NY Knicks Get Hornets' Chris Paul

July is here, and this year, we will not endure the bevy of rumors that we did last summer because LeBron James is no longer on the open market. 

We will not be experiencing the whirlwind of rumors regarding potential scenarios in which LeBron ends up in New York. This summer, it will all be different. 

And much worse. 

James may have a home this time around, but there are three other players, most notably Chris Paul, whose futures are up in the air. 

The summer of 2012 will bring a free-agent class consisting of Paul, Deron Williams and Dwight Howard that will rival the class of 2010.

And once again, the Knicks are right in the thick of it all, as they begin, like they hadn’t already, their pursuit of Paul. 

While many were outraged by the Knicks selecting Iman Shumpert with the 17th overall pick in this year’s draft, Frank Isola of the Daily News skillfully pointed out that he could be a pivotal part of any potential Paul to New York trade talks. 

Isola also pointed out that right now, the trade rumors involving the Knicks in regard to Paul are premature because of New York’s lack of assets. 

That being said, the Knicks may have an unofficial ace in the hole to facilitate the Paul venture: LeBron James, the self-proclaimed King himself. 

Wipe that grin off your face, I’m totally serious. 

How is LeBron going to help the Knicks pursuit? 

For starters, both he and Paul are represented Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the masterminds who helped orchestrate a “big three” forming in Miami. They also were in a factor in Carmelo Anthony joining the Knicks. 

This very notion is no coincidence.  James and his agency will want Paul to join Anthony in the Big Apple. 

However, LeBron will also help motivate Paul to come to New York for another reason: He wants the target off of the his and the rest of the Heat’s back. 

Media and fans alike can speculate that James, Dwyane Wade and Bosh are embracing the villain role, but there comes a time when we have to acknowledge that they are exhausted of being the only superstar powerhouse.

If Paul goes to New York, not only does it validate the Heat’s structural concept, it also takes some of the heat off James himself. A second super-team gives the rest of the NBA another team to target, and the fans another team to despise. 

Sure, LeBron wants to compete against the best of the best, but he also wants to take a break from the scaffold of public demise he has been sitting on the past year, motivating him to help Paul find his way to New York. 

Should Paul go to the Knicks, such a stress will be slightly alleviated off of LeBron’s shoulders.

LeBron may not openly or bluntly support a Paul and Knicks union. He will however, be in the shadows, attempting to persuade Paul to force the Hornets’ hand. 

In the coming months, we will watch as the trade rumors regarding the Knicks and Paul take on a tumultuous life of their own. 

The Knicks lack necessary assets, but as Isola illustrated in his reference to Shumpert, the talks have already begun.

None of the Knicks assets, sans Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire, are off limits. 

And not all of the Knicks assets are fitted in orange and blue. 

In fact, one of New York’s greatest assets is the same person who burned the Knicks a year ago. 

But that’s all in the past.  Knicks fans are once again in James’ corner. 

For now, anyway.