NBA Trade Rumors: Why Chris Paul Will Never Be Traded to the Boston Celtics

This is the gift and curse of the NBA offseason.

The gift is new faces in new places just to liven up the league and give you more expectations going into the regular season. Not only that, but you have the potential of a big time trade taking place and possibly knocking the earth off an angle. These trades have happened in offseasons before and they have completely changed the outlook of the NBA with the Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett deal taking place on draft day 2007 being a clear example.

The curse is the fact that this speculation is always uncertain and that there are so many possible scenarios, that it makes it nearly impossible to keep up. It only makes it worse when your team is involved in the speculation as you usually find a way to be let down if your team isn't the one that makes the big splash even though the trade came so close to happening much like how the Sacramento Kings were in contention for landing Shaquille O'Neal in 2004 before the Miami Heat picked him up.

Now we are in the middle of this situation once again with Chris Paul and Dwight Howard being the main culprits. However, Howard has tended to shy away from these rumors and isn't letting anything be known about a possible trade. The most we've heard his way is that the New Jersey Nets reportedly gave him an offer and the Los Angeles Lakers are planning on attempting to trade Andrew Bynum for him as well.

Chris Paul, however, is completely guilty of this tremendous amount of hype building up. It began with a simple trade involving him and the Boston Celtics, but the speculation grew completely out of control once it was reported that he demanded a trade to the New York Knicks. It seemed as if this was the trade that was going to happen, but it never got off the ground as Paul denied the rumors the next day.

Not to mention that the Knicks don't even have any quality assets to send the Hornets' way.

So now where are we in this whole CP3 saga? It's obvious that the New Orleans Hornets are willing to shop Chris Paul around as they are well aware that there is a high chance he is leaving when he becomes a free agent next year. Paul has been with the Hornets since 2005 and has seen no overall improvement since he led the team to 56 wins and a Southwest division title in 2008.

The Hornets have announced interest in the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry as well as the Los Angeles Clippers' Eric Gordon, but both teams have sent deals to the Hornets that don't include either player. With those teams unwilling to part with their young and budding superstars, the Hornets are left with Chris Paul and a whole lot of questions left to be answered.

Once again, enter the Boston Celtics. Since day one of the lockout ending, the Celtics have made it no secret that they want Chris Paul on their team before the regular season begins. They're one of the strongest pursuers of Paul's services and they've even given the team another trade offer that includes the likes of Rajon Rondo, Jeff Green and two first-round picks.

It's not too bad of a deal for the Hornets as they receive a quality point guard to replace Paul as well as a young forward in Jeff Green to possibly replace David West to go along with two first-round picks. There's no word on what the Celtics want aside from Paul, but my guess is that it could be Emeka Okafor as a means to acquire a center to replace the vacancy left behind by Kendrick Perkins.

Not too bad of a deal for both sides and it might happen if the Celtics could possibly throw in Glen Davis. Basically,anyone not named Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen is up for grabs as the team still requires the big three to actually make noise in the postseason. Those three may be nearing retirement, but they're still one of the most dangerous trios in the league with the Miami Heat's trio possibly being the only one more threatening.

This deal may work for both sides, but that doesn't mean it's going to work for Chris Paul who has already said he won't be signing an extension with the Celtics and will become a free agent in the 2012 offseason, which could potentially mean that the Celtics get rid of key pieces and then walk away with nothing.

First off, the majority of the Celtics' strong fan base is extremely against this trade from happening. Sure they'll get Chris Paul in return, but this city has come to love Rajon Rondo and the magic he can create on the floor. He's just as significant to this team as any member of the big three is and the Celtics and their fan base aren't ready to let go of another key piece after the city went into an uproar over trading away Kendrick Perkins.

Celtics fans have fled in the past, do you think Danny Ainge wants it to happen again?

Second off, Chris Paul plain doesn't want to be in Boston. He'll have the benefit of playing with three future Hall of Famers, but how long will that last before they retire and the team is left with nothing but Glen Davis and JaJuan Johnson as the next in line to replace them? Those three only have a few more years left in them of legitimate playing time and Paul certainly doesn't want to be in another Hornets situation where he does everything while his team is in shambles.

Finally, the Celtics will eventually come to their senses about this trade. They need to recognize how their fan base feels about moving these players that have grown to be a part of the city. The town was in an uproar over losing an overrated center in Kendrick Perkins; the organization shouldn't be ready to move another integral part of the team, especially one that carries as much significance as Rajon Rondo.

These players mean a lot to the Celtics because they helped to bring along the most success they've seen in two decades. Not since the days of Larry Bird have the Celtics seen so much success and they're grateful to players like Rondo and Perkins who helped assist the big three on their quest for a title.

If a trade is happening anywhere, it's going to happen between the Lakers and Hornets. L.A. has the pieces as they are currently dangling Pau Gasol as well as a few other players that will surely be added to the mix and it's already been made a fact that Paul doesn't mind playing alongside Kobe Bryant.

The Celtics are going to have to back off of this one as they should just allow Rondo to continue running the point and hope for the best from the big three that won the city a title in 2008.