NBA Trade Rumors: Why LA Lakers May Be More Attractive Than Knicks to Chris Paul

Not until Chris Paul actually makes his signing when he becomes a free agent in 2012 will we hear the end of the speculation regarding wherever the four-time All-Star point guard is headed.

As addressed in a piece earlier, Chris Paul has a number of potential suitors lining up for him: the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers, Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors. The Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks have also shown interest, but there is no reported offer on the table.

So far, nothing close to a deal has been struck with all of these proposed trades either being shut down or just being pure speculation. Chris Paul is set to remain a member of the New Orleans Hornets until he is either traded or waits until he becomes a free agent in the summer of 2012.

If Paul had his preference of where he'd prefer to go, however, it would end up either being the New York Knicks or Los Angeles Lakers.

The Knicks were one of the first teams in the running for Paul's services with CP3 spending the majority of his summer in New York City being courted by Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony. It seems that a deal was imminent as Paul demanded a trade only a few days after the lockout ended, but we saw that rumor quickly shot down as CP3 announced that he never demanded anything.

It now turns out that New York is officially out of the running for obtaining Chris Paul via trade, as they simply do not contain the pieces to convince the New Orleans Hornets to make a deal. Unless a third team was involved, we could tell this coming from using simple logic that Chauncey Billups and his expiring contract, Landry Fields and Toney Douglas was not going to be enough to reel in Paul.

The Knicks utilized all of their trade chips last year when they brought in Anthony and Billups. By sending out Wilson Chandler, Timofey Mozgov, Raymond Felton and Danilo Gallinari, the Knicks were left with no chance of getting Paul or any superstar via trade with the limited funds they possessed.

However, nothing is holding them back from snatching him up via free agency next season. That still might come as a problem though, as the Knicks are extremely limited on funds with Anthony and Amare Stoudemire each earning $20 million apiece. Paul set to only make $13 million if he does make the move to New York, as the team also needs the cap space to sign a roster to surround the three.

The Knicks loss this offseason could turn out to be the Los Angeles Lakers gain as they continue to make a strong push towards acquiring Paul by dangling Pau Gasol. The Lakers contain the greatest advantage over every other team attempting to trade for Paul as they possess the top pieces in order to gain his services.

By throwing out Gasol's name and the possibility of Metta World Peace or Lamar Odom with him, the Hornets are going to be offered a deal that they can't refuse.

Why not send Andrew Bynum? The Lakers have their own plans for him.

Even if the Lakers don't end up acquiring their intended target that they plan on trading Bynum for, Chris Paul would still be in excellent shape to contend for a title in the next few months. He'd help create the most volatile backcourt that the NBA has ever been bestowed with CP3 joining five time champion Kobe Bryant.

With Paul joining Bryant in the backcourt, the Lakers not only have the offensive firepower of two slashers as well as two shooters, but they also possess two players that are constantly rated as two of the best defensive guards in the league. Both have been to the All-Defensive teams a number of times, with Bryant on the first team and Paul on the second team last year.

This move also allows Bryant to conserve his energy and possibly play for a few more years instead of straining himself in every regular and postseason game. He may only be 33 years old, but 40,000 minutes and playing in 100 games in nearly every season for the past 15 years is going to take a toll on anyone's body. That even includes an ambitious superstar of Bryant's caliber.

Chris Paul may be more keen to the idea of playing with his buddies in New York, but he has to realize that a championship is not even close to certain. The team would still be horrible on the defensive side, there would be no bench and they still have to compete with some of the NBA's top teams in the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls—teams who play strong defense and could easily take out an offensive-minded team like the Knicks.

With the Lakers, Paul gets the benefit of playing on a team that's strong on both sides of the ball, possesses a competitive edge that only the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs could match and faces the possibility of also obtaining Dwight Howard.

Of course, bringing in Howard puts the Lakers in the same boat as the Knicks in terms of having no money, but the team shouldn't be too adamant about obtaining Howard at the moment and instead focus on surrounding Paul with capable teammates.

If Paul does join the Lakers, he's being greeted by a championship-caliber team from top to bottom. He'll have Kobe Bryant as his backcourt teammate, Andrew Bynum to throw lobs to, and Lamar Odom possibly replacing the departed Pau Gasol, which will make this Lakers team one of the most well-rounded starting lineups in the league.

By joining one of the most prestigious franchises in sports, Paul faces a lot of outside cash with advertisers and endorsements sure to contribute to CP3's salary. While New York may offer the same incentives, they still lack the glitz and glamor of Los Angeles, not to mention that Paul would still be grossly underpaid compared to his two teammates and being stuck on a team whose main bench threat would be Andy Rautins.

Paul will have a while to weigh his options, but joining the Lakers and forming the NBA's top backcourt as well as the most well-rounded starting lineup seems to be the best option if he's truly adamant about winning now.