Another Mastermind Strategy? Chris Paul Wants To Form Elite Trio

Looks like the NBA trend is if your friends jump ship to join a single team, you do it too. 

According to various reports, Chris Paul wants to leave New Orleans to join a title contending team. Those reports have the Orlando Magic, New York Knicks, and Los Angeles Lakers as the destinations Paul would like to go. ESPN's Chris Broussard reports that the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers are also favorites for Chris Paul's talents. 

Paul would join the likes of Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler in Dallas, Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis in Orlando, Amar'e Stoudamire in New York, and Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol in Los Angeles. 

According to CBSSports, a source close to the situation said, "He wants out."

"He wants to play with another superstar. He wants to follow LeBron's model of teaming up with other great players." 

This all may stem from an infamous toast at Carmelo Anthony's wedding in New York where Paul reportedly said, " We'll form our own Big 3." It would certainly be the NBA's conspiracy theory if Paul ever wound up in New York with Carmelo who hasn't accepted the Nuggets' contract extension. 

If Paul were to get his way, it may be the dawn of a new era in the NBA where the key to win a championship is to form a super trio. Yet orchestrating a trade will be difficult. The Magic, Knicks, and Lakers would not have the valuable pieces to get a trade done and will almost certainly need a third team. 

Earlier in the offseason, the New Jersey Nets reportedly offered Devin Harris and their top draft pick in the 2010 draft for Paul but New Orleans balked.