NBA Trade Rumors: Knicks Will Need Help to Bring Chris Paul to New York

The New York Knicks would love nothing more than to abide Chris Paul in his desire to leave the New Orleans Hornets for the Big Apple. The problem? The Knicks just don't have the assets to make a deal work.

That is, unless the Hornets are willing to settle for a package of players including Chauncey Billups and Landry Fields.

The Knicks emptied their coffers to bring Carmelo Anthony to Madison Square Garden last season, sending Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Timofey Mozgov, their first-round pick in 2014, two second-round picks from the Golden State Warriors and cash to Denver in exchange for Carmelo Anthony, Billups, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter and once-and-former Knickerbocker Renaldo Balkman.

Carter and Williams have since entered the market as unrestricted free agents while Billups has one year remaining on his current deal.

New York has first-round picks in 2012 and 2013 at its disposal, though general manager Glen Grunwald will still have to get creative to put together a package to satisfy Dell Demps, his counterpart in New Orleans.

That will require Grunwald to summon his inner Donnie Walsh...and put in calls to teams around the league that are overstocked with young talent (i.e. the Minnesota Timberwolves). Suppose Grunwald can swap out Billups and a draft pick in some sort of deal for, say, Michael Beasley of the T-Wolves, he may be in business.

The Hornets apparently are fine with pushing Jarrett Jack into the starting spot at the point, preferring to get the best overall package possible rather than just one with an obvious replacement for CP3.

Paul's stated desire to move to NYC may work in the Knicks' favor, but it hardly gives the team enough leverage to strong-arm the Hornets into making a bad deal. Teams around the league are already lining up for a shot to steal Paul from New Orleans' league-owned franchise, with the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles co-tenants, the Lakers and Clippers, among those already mentioned in connection with the superstar point guard.

What's more, if Paul is truly intent to play with Dwight Howard, then the Knicks may already be out of luck. The Knicks can't afford to add two more superstars to the two they already have, given the NBA's salary cap restrictions. The franchise center for the Orlando Magic figures to end up with the Lakers or the Nets via trade or remain in central Florida before the Knicks get their shot at him.

Unless New York can find a way to satisfy New Orleans' demands, the team's best bet is to wait until the summer, when it'll be able to offer him a deal worth approximately $55.5 million over four years.

Certainly, the Knicks should do whatever they can to make sure CP3 ends up in orange in blue. A trio of Paul, 'Melo and Amar'e would give Mike D'Antoni's squad a trio comparable to that of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat, immediately vaulting New York into the ever-deepening ranks of title contenders in the Eastern Conference.

In any case, whether CP3 ends up in Gotham or not, expect another Carmelo-style media firestorm to hover between the Big Apple and the Big Easy in the coming months.

I can tell you're excited already.