2012 NBA Trade Speculation: 5 Front-Runners to Land Chris Paul

Over the past few seasons, the Atlanta Hawks have been trying to force themselves into contender status. A breakout season by Joe Johnson, complimented by the growing of young players like Al Horford and Joe Smith showed that they can compete with the top teams every year. Unfortunately, with the Eastern Conference as stacked at the top as it is, they will need another addition to be able to beat them.

Despite their success, they have not had solid point guard play. Mike Bibby played decent, but then departed to the Miami Heat. Without him they do not have a solid point guard. With Chris Paul, they can be real contenders for the title every year. This would be a solid young team that would only be getting better with experience.

In addition, Paul could return to the east coast and closer to his North Carolina home.

4. Portland Trailblazers

Last offseason, Chris Paul released a wish list of teams he would like to go to if he had the opportunity. One of the teams on that list was the Portland Trailblazers. He saw a young team that could compete for a long time with the right mix of talent. Although the team had a little bit of a down year last year, they were unlucky with injuries and they still made the playoffs.

Although the Trailblazers drafted Nolan Smith in the first round, they would gladly give him up for a chance at a three-time All-NBA performer in Chris Paul. It would instantly make their backcourt with him and Brandon Roy one of the best in the league if not the best.

With other Western Conference contenders getting older, the Blazers would have a chance to take over for many years.

3. Orlando Magic

While the New Orleans Hornets did very little to surround Chris Paul with talent, the Orlando Magic have tried pretty hard to bring talent to Orlando to help out Dwight Howard. Unfortunately, they seem to be making the wrong moves. Gilbert Arenas and Vince Carter are not the answers. Chris Paul is the answer.

Dwight Howard has proven to be one of the best big men in the world, but a revolving door of guards has not helped him win a championship. If the Magic do not want to lose Howard to free agency, they need to surround him with a steady future and that can come with CP3.

Unlike other teams on this list, the Magic do have a solid point guard in Jameer Nelson. However, Nelson would be best suited for a team with tons of talent around him where he can be a pass-first player. If the Magic want to compete in the Eastern Conference, they need a point guard who can be a legitimate outside threat or beat players off of the dribble. An inside-outside game of Paul and Howard would win a lot of games and certainly be fun to watch.

2. Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers were embarrassed by the Dallas Mavericks last season. There is no way to sugarcoat it. Not only did the series result in a sweep, but it ended ugly with players committing hard fouls and basically giving up before the series was over. They need a new boost of energy in that locker room.

Enter Chris Paul.

The Lakers have been employing solid but not great point guards over the last few years. By the second half, their primary job is to bring the ball up the court and hand it over to Kobe Bryant. However, the “Black Mamba” is getting up there in age and cannot do everything on the court anymore. He is still an elite scorer, but it would extend his career even more if there was someone else on the perimeter that could create opportunities for him and other players.

For the past few years, the Lakers seemed to be on auto-pilot to the playoffs and even through the first few rounds of the playoffs. This year’s playoffs showed that they are not good enough anymore to do that. With Chris Paul, they would easily be favorites again to win the title.

1. New York Knicks

While LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were scheming to play together one day with Miami, there was another big three planning their future together as well. Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire are all good friends and would love to knock Miami off of their pedestal.

Not only would the combination of Paul, Anthony and Stoudemire be an offensive force to be reckon with, it would also bring the excitement to New York City that the Knicks have needed since Patrick Ewing retired. If they could bring a championship to Madison Square Garden, they would be immortalized in New York sports lore. It has been almost 30 years since they last raised a banner into the rafters, and the fans are ready for greatness again.

The only downside of this triumphant would be defensively. Although all three of these players are great scorers, only Paul is regarded for his defense, yet he is still undersized. It would be an interesting matchup between this group and the Heat. The good thing is that no matter who wins it would be great for the NBA.