Why Canceled Hornets-Lakers Trade Will Make the Entire Season a "What If"

Finally Chris Paul is on the move. After Wednesday's trade to the Los Angeles Clippers, Paul has a new home and the entire saga is over.

What the entire saga has accomplished is that the Clippers are now a much better team, while the Los Angeles Lakers are not.

It's also left NBA fans with a ton of questions. At the end of the season, we will look back and ask a lot of "what ifs."

For instance, how would things have fared if David Stern didn't nix the original trade that would have made Paul a member of the Lakers?

For one, the Lakers would be contenders in the Western Conference.

They would have a powerful Paul-Kobe Bryant one-two punch that would be tough to stop. In the meantime, they wouldn't have given up a heck of a lot in the deal. Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol seem minimal to what the Clippers ended up having to pay for Paul.

But the point is they would not only have the services of a four-time All-Star point guard, but they would have created a ton of cap space in the process. Not only that, but they would have practically stolen Paul without having to part with their best young chip in Andrew Bynum or any draft picks.

That leads to another "what if".

"What if"  then the Lakers could have turned Bynum and some picks into part of a package to land Dwight Howard as well?

Suddenly the Lakers would be legit championship contenders while the Clippers would still be an up and coming young team.

Which leads us to a final "what if."

"What if" the trade went through? How happy would Bryant be?

The Lakers would have a happy star on their hands competing for another championship. Instead Bryant has made it known that he's very unhappy with the direction the Lakers are going, in that the Lakers could have another huge problem to deal with all together.

Who knows how the 2011-12 season will play out for teams like the Lakers, but at the end of the day we will look back and ask "what if."