NBA Trade Rumors: NBA Did Lakers a Huge Favor by Stopping Chris Paul Trade

Phew, that was a close one Lakers fans.  

The Lakers almost made a huge mistake by trading away Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom for Chris Paul.  Lucky for the Lakers the NBA and David Stern swooped in like superman and saved the day.  

I understand that Chris Paul is a great point guard, and an elite talent but sending away two solid starters for Paul is a move that the Lakers would have ultimately come to regret.  Acquiring Chris Paul would have been a smart move for the long-term future of the Lakers, but for the immediate future it would have been disastrous.

The first reason why that trade would have been a mistake is because trading away Gasol and Odom would have left a gaping hole at the power forward position.  

Adding Chris Paul would have been a major upgrade for the Lakers at the point guard position, but it would have also been an enormous downgrade at the power forward/center position.  Trading away Pau Gasol would have meant losing an average of 18.8 points per game and 9.1 rebounds per game.  

I know Chris Paul's production, with a career average of 18.7 points per game and 9.9 assists per game, is technically higher than Gasol's but there is one big difference; rebounds can be earned by yourself whereas assists rely on the talent around you.  

Pau Gasol's second-highest career average of 9.1 rebounds per game is a stat he earned on his own production.  Chris Paul's second-highest career average of 9.9 assists per game is a stat he earned based on the talent around him.  

Sure Chris Paul is a great point guard, and a large amount of his assists lead to easy baskets, but there is no doubting that his production as a point guard relies on the other four players on the court, and that is where trying to trade away high level talent like Lamar Odom comes in.  

By getting rid of Lamar Odom, the Lakers would have lost career-average production to the tune of a solid 14.6 points per game, 8.9 rebounds per game and 4.0 assists per game.  Losing that kind of production without getting another similar player in return would have hurt the Lakers.  

While the other players the Lakers would have received in the trade have not been announced yet, I highly doubt anyone they would have received would have been able to produce similar numbers to Lamar Odom.  

If you look at the Laker's projected starting lineup, if the trade had gone through, it looks like this: Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Andrew Bynum, Derrick Caracter and Metta World Peace, with the first two guys off the bench being Derek Fisher and Matt Barnes.  

While that isn't a bad lineup by any means, I think the loss of Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom would have left more holes than the addition of Chris Paul could have filled.  I know a majority of people believe Andrew Bynum could have filled that hole but I beg to differ. 

A lot of people think Bynum is the future, but without Pau Gasol drawing the majority of defensive pressure this upcoming year, Andrew Bynum would have been exposed as the weak, over-hyped player that he is.

Who knows, maybe Matte Barnes, Luke Walton or Andrew Goudelock (Laker's 2nd round pick) could have emerged as offensive juggernauts and replaced the production of both Gasol and Odom, but thanks to the NBA we will never have to find out.

The chemistry between Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant would have taken at least 30 to 35 games to truly develop, much like it did between LeBron James and Dwyane Wade last year.  In a shortened 66 game season, those 30-ish games would have been too much time for the Lakers to have to wait on the Kobe and Paul connection.  

Put all of the previous talk aside, and there is still another major reason why this trade would have been disastrous for the Lakers.  That reason is that Kobe and Paul would have had a difficult time learning to share the ball with each other, particularly Kobe.  

Kobe's selfish play would have been a difficult thing for Paul to adapt to and that would have been the foundational reason why the CP3 trade would have been a huge mistake.  

Chris Paul to the Lakers is a move that makes sense for the long term future of the Lakers.  The Lakers would be able to build around Kobe and Paul in the next few drafts and in free agency, but until that building takes place the Lakers would be bound to struggle.

Sorry Lakers fans, this year isn't going to be the one you dreamed of.  Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant won't be wearing the same purple and gold of the Lakers, but believe me that is a very good thing.   

Instead of the 2011-12 season ending in disappointment for the Los Angeles Lakers, there is now hope that the Lakers season can be a success, and Lakers fans have the NBA and David Stern to thank for that.