Lakers Trade Rumors: What Houston Rockets Have to Offer in Chris Paul Deal

The Los Angeles Lakers have emerged as clear front runners in the race for Chris Paul after the New York Knicks dropped out earlier today, according to The New York Post's Marc Berman.

With the Lakers dangling power forward Pau Gasol as a part of the deal, according to Yahoo's Marc Spears, the New Orleans Hornets are now listening and could be on the verge of making a deal with a third party reportedly set to join in on the fray.

That third party just happens to be the Houston Rockets and they're looking to make some key acquisitions as well in order to avoid the mediocrity for a few more years. The Rockets finished 43-39 last season, but missed the post season for the second consecutive year thanks in part to being in the league's most difficult division in the Southwest.

Losing Yao Ming has only increased the Rockets' troubles as they now look towards striking a deal with the Lakers and Hornets. The deal reportedly involves Chris Paul going to the Lakers, Pau Gasol heading to Houston and the Hornets receiving Kevin Martin, Luis Scola and possibly a few draft picks as well.

It's a deal that benefits every team as the Lakers get their point guard and become championship contenders once again while adding Lamar Odom to make up for the loss of Gasol. The Rockets finally get a big man in the frontcourt to help compensate for the loss of Yao and the Hornets get the benefit of receiving a full quality pieces and a few picks in return for giving away their franchise player.

The Hornets have shown that they're more interested in the services of Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Eric Gordon of the Los Angeles Clippers, but both teams are reportedly not budging and refuse to give up either of their young stars. With neither team making any moves to bring in CP3, the Hornets just may go the route of allowing him to play with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

Obviously, it's going to take a lot to pry Paul out of New Orleans before he become a free agent in 2012. The Hornets organization is in shambles at the moment, and the team could be on the move sooner than most would expect which means delicate precautions are going to have to be taken in order for the team to trade away Chris Paul.

However, the team does also realize that they might walk away with nothing if Paul does end up leaving the Hornets, which means that they're keen to the idea of shopping him and bringing in some players to help compensate for the loss. This may be the best deal by far as the team receives multiple quality pieces to help make up for the loss as well as a few draft picks to possibly make up for it even more.

Both players that they are projected to receive as a part of the deal do address a few key issues with Kevin Martin being a pure scorer and replacing the inept Marco Belinelli at shooting guard, while Luis Scola can play at the four if the team does decide to follow through on a sign and trade involving their current power forward in David West.

Although Scola and Martin are solid players, it's going to take more than a 31-year-old with good footwork and a pure scorer who can't play defense to take Paul out of New Orleans. If the Rockets really are serious, then they're going to add a young player to this bunch and that means adding either Kyle Lowry or Patrick Patterson.

The Hornets would have to start Jarrett Jack if Paul leaves and while that's not all that bad, it's not all that good either. Adding a young and promising player like Kyle Lowry gives the Hornets another player to rely on for points on the board as well as a facilitator who can help lead the offense. The Rockets chose Kyle Lowry over Aaron Brooks, and it's paying off after he averaged 14 points and seven assists per in the second half of the season.

Or the team could possibly attach Patrick Patterson as a part of the deal. The Rockets may have Luis Scola, but they're going to have to add some size as well next to Emeka Okafor. Scola isn't the biggest player and he's not the most threatening, but Patterson can be as he stands at 6'9" and a wide 235 pounds.

Patterson played 52 games in his rookie year with the Rockets and averaged six points and four rebounds per. He can still improve in a number of areas including his overall offensive repertoire and his speed, but he does show a lot of potential and that size of his could prove to be beneficial on a team that's going to attempt to impose its force physically.

Mostly, it gives the Hornets something to work with because they're going to need it once Chris Paul departs. Any team that loses a superstar requires a lot of re-building and the Hornets want to avoid that by trading for players that can positively impact the team now and not five years later, when the Hornets could be in a different city by then.

If New Orleans doesn't get a superstar in return, then it's either going to have to ask for a few quality players or a different team to the mix because two players who have never been All-Stars won't cut it. The Rockets will have to either add another young player or the Lakers will have to send Lamar Odom to the Hornets as well.

New Orleans may not have made a significant move during its time with Chris Paul over the past few seasons, and it's not going to let this important move get the best of them. The Hornets realize how many teams want CP3 and they're going to ask for as much as they can get so that they can recover from their possible of the franchise player.