Time for Chris Paul, Other Stars To Man Up

It appears Pat Riley's assembly of the South Beach trifecta has caused at least one other NBA star to take a disturbing stance.  

Two weeks to the day after LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade officially became one with the Miami Heat, Chris Paul has decided the New Orleans front office isn't working hard enough to build a championship contender and that it's time to find a way out of town.

So this is what it has come to. From now on, every unhappy superstar is going to renege on his contract and force management to trade him to a team that already has a star or two, or to a team that has enough cap space to possibly lure one of his buddies to the same organization in the next free agency period.

The NBA. Where Copping Out Happens. 

I feel bad for David Stern. He is the one commissioner in all of sports that markets individual stars, and while it is a team sport, there is genius in that strategy.

Up until two weeks ago, when the Cavaliers visited places like Memphis, 20 percent of the people attending the game would say, "I'm going to the Grizzlies game tonight," while the other 80 percent would say "I'm going to see LeBron James tonight."

It's likely that two-thirds of that 80 percent could care less about the NBA or the Grizzlies, but you bet they'll spend hundreds of dollars to "witness" James score 40. Stern has always believed that stars, not teams, draw crowds and for the most part that has worked for him.

The problem is there aren't too many must-see, bona-fide superstars in the NBA these days. In fact, I counted 19 in a league of roughly 450 players. 

That's a small ratio of extraordinary to ordinary, and if all the extraordinaries start pledging to sign with the same team or cry down the same river until they get traded, Stern is going to have about 10 franchises making money. That wouldn't be good for business.

So how about Paul, the latest superstar to cry 'woe is me?' His cry for help is actually more pathetic and less warranted than King James'. 

James was a free agent and had a right to leave. Paul is not. He is entering the third year of a four-year, $68 million contract extension that was signed after the 2007-08 season.

You're unhappy that the organization hasn't taken care of you, Chris? I guess that $68 million didn't give your family financial stability for generations. And you seemed pretty happy the day you signed since your Hornets were coming off a 55-win season and a heartbreaking, but encouraging second round loss to the Spurs in seven games.

The following season, '08-09, wasn't the breakthrough everyone thought it would be, but the Hornets still won 49 games and made the playoffs.

That was one full season ago. Not three or five. One. 

New Orleans is coming off of a 37-45 campaign, but why is that? Because Paul, the team's supposed leader and superstar, missed 37 games, leaving the team with a rookie point guard to hold down the fort.

If I were to speculate that the Hornets would've won 50 games had Paul not missed almost half the season, would anyone disagree with that? I didn't think so.

That's exactly what makes this such a dumbfounding case. Sticking with the James comparison, he left because for seven years the Cavs simply did not put enough around him, and James got tired of carrying the load every night.

I call that the burden that comes with being a superstar, but who am I? Regardless, he still honored his contract and chose to exercise his right to play elsewhere.

Paul is crying why? Because the Hornets, while not currently title contenders but a solid playoff team with Paul, floundered for half a season without him?

What if Stern allowed teams to put a clause in player's contracts that states if your play drops off or you miss half the season and take your team out of playoff contention as a result, then you have to give x-amount of dollars back to the organization? In that case, New Orleans would be getting millions back from Paul.

And yet Paul sees himself as the one getting the raw deal? 

Here's a thought for CP3 and other whiny stars alike: sign your contract and honor it like a man. Otherwise you are leaving the organization, your adoring fans and, on a larger scale, the league, out to dry. It's not the other way around.

Only then will this troubling stance become a weak pose.