NBA Trade Speculation: Best Trade Partners for New Orleans Hornets' Chris Paul
Now that the NBA lockout has ended, the Chris Paul free agent 2012 sweepstakes have begun, and it's safe to say that Paul will not be a New Orleans Hornet next season.
The All-Star point guard is a coveted prospect by several emerging teams around the league, most notably the New York Knicks, who have made key roster changes in order to appeal more to Paul.
With Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony already on the payroll, the Knicks must look to free up some cap space so that they can shoot a sexy offer at Paul this summer.
The Knicks aren't the only franchise looking to pick up Paul either though free agency or a trade, however, here are a few teams in the hunt for CP3 this season:
The Lakers' payroll is over $91 million, and that means they need to start parting ways with some of those inflated contracts.
The Hornets would sooner like to kick themselves in the groin than trade away Paul for an inflated contract, but the new amnesty clause opens things up and they could be left with nothing if Paul flees during free agency this summer.
L.A. has plenty of trade chips to tease the Hornets with, guys like Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum would be intriguing additions in New Orleans, and the only league-owned franchise would be heading into the offseason with money to spend and a focused, certain direction.
The Magic are in a similar situation with Dwight Howard, who will be free agent soon, and could pick up Paul via a trade in order to keep Howard around.
The two superstars are good friends and won Olympic gold with the U.S. team three years ago in China. Paul would be a huge upgrade over Jameer Nelson, no disrespect, and would no doubt get Howard more involved on the offensive end.
The Magic have young, proven pieces like Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu that they can float around in a potential trade with New Orleans. The Hornets would need a playmaker in exchange for Paul that's for sure considering they let young Darren Collison get away.
This is a wild card, dark-horse destination for Paul, but it makes incredible basketball sense.
Paul would be a significant upgrade over sometimes-wild and often out-of-control Russell Westbrook, and would make sure the Thunder were getting better shots more consistently.
Westbrook forgets about superstar Kevin Durant too much, and it showed last postseason against Dallas.
Paul played in OKC for a short time following Hurricane Katrina and would be well received by the fans. If the Thunder could get a deal involving Westbrook and some other young pieces in exchange for Paul, they would instantly be West favorites.
