Chris Paul Trade Rumors: Why Knicks Must Practice Patience with Paul Deal

With the New Orleans Hornets trade of starting point guard Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers put on hold, the New York Knicks should start thinking about how they can swoop in and grab the star guard. They shouldn't be so quick though, as we have seen the owners are going to do whatever they can to stop anybody from trying to create a super trio like LeBron James and the Miami Heat.

The Knicks don't have the pieces to acquire Paul, and that is one of the biggest detractors in this situation. With their recent signing of center Tyson Chandler, it seems like the biggest trade pieces that the Knicks will have to make this move will be Amare Stoudemire, whom they just signed last season. The Knicks must be patient for this exact reason, as moving Stoudemire could potentially be a huge loss.

The Knicks already lost a lot of their young and upcoming players just last season when they dealt for the Denver Nuggets Carmelo Anthony. With that move, the Knicks will now have to sacrifice moving a player like Stoudemire, otherwise they would likely have to deal much of their remaining depth.

The Knicks also just cut veteran guard Chauncey Billups, which leaves the Knicks with a major hole at point guard. Without any moves this offseason, it looks as if Toney Douglas will be the designated starter for the Knicks once the season gets underway.

There is no doubt that Paul would mesh extremely well with Carmelo Anthony and Chandler. The question is if Stoudemire was there too, would there be enough touches for all four players to make an impact?

Likely not.

If the Knicks do want Paul, they are just going to have to wait and  see how things develop. The Hornets are going to need to keep a star player in New Orleans, otherwise nobody is going to approve of any deal to the league owned team.

Perhaps the Knicks will be able to get a third team involved, but that remains to be seen. The Knicks have vastly improved over the years, and many have to believe that Anthony is going to be the one to carry this team, not Stoudemire or even Paul for that matter.

The Hornets are going to deal Paul by season's end, there isn't any question about it. The Knicks could still land Paul, but they are going to have wait it out and see how this whole thing develops. A Paul deal could put the Knicks over the top in star power, but it could also leave their bench quite empty.