NBA: Why New Orleans Needs to Be Smart About Trading Chris Paul

Where does Chris Paul rank among point guards all-time? 

With no rings and career averages of 18.7 points, 9.9 assists, and 2.4 steals, he probably belongs in the same conversation as these players (with arguably their best years listed):

• Deron Williams (2008-09: 19.4 points, 10.7 assists, 1.1 steals)
• Gary Payton (1999-00: 24.2 points, 8.9 assists, 1.9 steals)
• Mark Price (1989-90: 19.6 points, 9.1 assists, 1.6 steals)
• Jason Kidd (2002-03: 18.7 points, 8.9 assists, 2.2 steals)
• Terry Porter (1988-89: 17.7 points, 9.5 assists, 1.8 steals)
• John Stockton (1988-89: 17.1 points, 13.6 assists, 3.2 steals)

Chris Paul’s best numbers eclipse nearly all of these (2008-09: 22.8 points, 11 assists, 2.8 steals), his career numbers (listed above) matches all of them, and his down year last year (15.9 points, 9.8 assists, 2.4 steals) are right in the mix. 

I say all of that to say that New Orleans HAS to do better in a trade for him than taking back a 31-year-old undersized center (Luis Scola), a 32-year-old combo forward (Lamar Odom), a backup point guard (Goran Dragic), and a non-lottery draft pick (from the Knicks). ESPECIALLY since Paul is only 26! He’s still in his prime!

Can imagine the outrage if Gary Payton was traded at 26 (1994) to New York for Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason, Charlie Ward, and a No. 1 pick, or if Jason Kidd was traded at 26 (1999) to Indiana for Rik Smits, Dale Davis, Travis Best, and a No. 1 pick?

Granted, guys on this list have been traded in their careers while they were still playing at a high level.

Deron Williams was traded to New Jersey just last year for Derrick Favors (prospect), Devin Harris, and two lottery picks.

Jason Kidd was first traded in 1996 to Phoenix for Sam Cassell (prospect, future All Star), Michael Finley (prospect, future All Star), and veteran A.C. Green, then again in 2001 to New Jersey for All Star Stephon Marbury and scraps, and yet again in 2008 for Maurice Ager (prospect), DeSagana Diop (prospect), Devin Harris (then an All Star), and two first round picks.

Gary Payton was traded in 2003 for a package including All Star Ray Allen and a No. 1 pick.

Take any of those trades and put them against what New Orleans would be getting back for Chris Paul. No All Stars. No prospects. A No. 1 pick that is borderline-useless depending on how good the Knicks are this year. On what planet is this trade good for New Orleans?

I’m not saying New Orleans shouldn’t try to trade Paul. Absolutely, they should. But if they don’t get a deal that actually makes sense for them (read: prospects, good draft picks, or All Stars still in their prime), they’d be better off letting Paul walk and start the rebuilding process.

The best argument I can make for that strategy is to look at what happened to the Philadelphia 76ers went through after they traded Charles Barkley to the Suns in 1992.

1. Sixers go 35-47 in 1991-92 with Barkley.
2. Sixers trade Barkley to Phoenix for Jeff Hornacek (20-point scorer), Andrew Lang (part-time starting center), and Tim Perry (part-time starting center).
3. Sixers go 26-56 in 1992-93 with Hornacek and Perry. Andrew Lang is already gone (now with Atlanta).
4. Sixers go 25-57 in 1993-94. Hornacek is now 30 and past his prime, Perry is still a part-time starter and not developing at all.
5. Sixers go 24-58 in 1994-95. Hornacek is gone. Perry is gone.

And so on. The Sixers would be awful until they finally got Allen Iverson in the 1996 draft and were able to build around him.

But what if they had traded Barkley for more than just a mediocre shooting guard and two crappy centers? Even if it was still to the ’92 Suns? That Suns team had a young Cedric Ceballos, rookie Richard Dumas, Kevin Johnson and Dan Majerle in their prime.

Any of those pieces coming back to Phoenix, even alongside Hornacek, would have put Philly in a better position to rebuild post-Chuck. But instead, they were stuck with three crappy players, no picks, no legit prospects, and it would take them half a decade to get it together.

Hopefully the Hornets don’t completely screw this up and are able to get some value for Chris Paul. Because if they don’t, this could be the end of basketball in New Orleans for a while.

I don’t think the fans are going to shell out money to watch Emeka Okafor, Trevor Ariza and Jarret Jack win 15 games per year for the next four years.

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.