With the news that Chris Paul had been traded (no, for real this time) Luka and I had to have an emergency e-mail exchange about the deal and what it means for both the teams and players involved. Below is how the exchange transpired.
Daki:
I have to admit, it's a little funny that this trade was finalized moments after a buddy of mine sent me this link. My initial reaction to the trade was: WOW the Clippers could not have played this any worse. First of all, the NBA and New Orleans had zero leverage in any trades because there were only 3 teams Paul would play for (Knicks, Lakers, Clips). This meant that other franchises were not even calling, and once the Clippers pulled out it looked like New Orleans would get no compensation next summer when Paul decided to leave. Of course, this is the Clippers, and in a situation where they had all the power they decided to fuck it up. Look, the Minnesota pick is probably vastly overvalued, but the loss of Eric Gordon hurts. As Bill Simmons pointed out, Gordon is the best under-30 SG in the NBA right now. Is he really worth trading for a fragile point guard with knee issues? This is beyond ridiculous right now, I have to get my thoughts in order, hopefully I will once I read your response.
Luka:
First of all I don't think that the Clippers fucked things up too badly. Yes they did give up Gordon who is probably going to become an all-star and have a great career but they had to in order to get the best point guard in the league when healthy. By doing this move they arguably become the bigger story in L.A. for the first time ever which is something that they've always wanted to do. I think the real story here is the NBA and the complete circus it has become with David Stern as its confused and out of place ringleader. How is Kaman (He sucks. I know he's an expiring contract but who cares? No free agent will sign in New Orleans. They never have in the past and I don't see that changing in the future.), Gordon (Future All-Star), Aminu (serviceable player who has potential but not an impact player at this stage in his career) and Minnesota's first round pick (It might not even be that high! The Wolves have Love, Rubio, Beasley, Johnson, Barea and lots of depth with a coach in Rick Adelman who knows how to win in the regular season) better than Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, and Lamar Odom? The answer is that it's not and the NBA will have some explaining to do since the reason why the Lakers deal fell through in the first place was for "basketball reasons". And one more thing, if I'm the Lakers, I'm pulling a Dan Gilbert right now and sending David Stern a bitchy email since he is the reason they had to trade Lamar Odom for nothing. This whole process makes no sense. I'm excited to watch Paul and Griffin play though. What do you think happens to Chauncey "I get paid 14 million a year but still feel the need to excessively bitch about everything" Billups?
Daki:
I am really glad you brought up Billups because it brings up another point. With Billups, Paul, Bledsoe and Mo Williams all signed, one of them has to go right? I mean, unless they plan on using Billups at Shooting Guard and having Mo and Bledsoe back up both spots I can't see how all four of them will fit in. What do you think? Also, the fact that Billups gets so much money and still refuses to stop complaining is ridiculous, I think he is one of the more overrated guards of the past decade but that is for another time. I do agree that the Clippers had to do this. It isn't often that they would get more headlines then the Lakers, and it is even less often they can say that they have arguably the best point guard in the league. As for the Hornets, once Eric Gordon's contract expires and he leaves where the hell do they stand? The NBA has put them in a much worse position then before, at least with the Lakers/Rockets trade they could remain relevant for a few more seasons. I don't see how the Lakers don't protest this because they basically got Josh Mcroberts for all this trouble and to top it off a very pissed off Kobe. At this point the only response the league has to shut the Lakers up would be "we gave you a title in 2002" (yes I am still very bitter). It really is unbeleivable how this circus has affected so many teams; by my count: the Lakers, Mavs, Rockets, Hornets, Clippers, Knicks have all been affected in some way (obviously some in a good way). The question now becomes: can the Clippers contend? and how fun would a Clippers Lakers playoff series be?
Luka:
I think that they will let go of Billups, the only way that can happen though is through a buyout since amnestied players can't get traded in their first season with their new team. Whether they let Chauncey go or not, the Clippers still have a very poor defensive backcourt. Paul is decent (at best) but Mo "The Godfather" (top 5 nickname in the league) Williams can't guard shooting guards so it'll be interesting to see what they do. I think the Clippers can contend but they have to get lucky with Paul and Butler's health. If either of those two guys go out for a prolonged period of time (especially Paul), we'll be back to seeing the old Clippers. I still somehow think the Lakers get Dwight Howard. They always manage to pull trades out of their asses and if they can get Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown then they can get Howard for Andrew Bynum and other spare parts. A Lakers-Clippers series would be amazing especially if my dream scenario happens which is as follows: Lakers get Howard, Clippers get off to a slow start and fire Vinny Del Negro (yep, he's their coach right now), hire Phil Jackson. Would anyone not watch this series if these things happened? As for the Hornets, they have to pray that the Timberwolves suck this season and that they get a top 3 pick. That Eric Gordon loves New Orleans and that they can lure some free agent. And to all free agents, why wouldn't you want to go to a team that is run by David Stern? Things look bleak for the Hornets future. Let's just say I'm happy that I'm a Raptors fan right now and not a Hornets one. This is saying something because our big free agent signing this year is Gary Forbes (go ahead, google him.)
Daki:
The above scenario would be incredible, and sadly is probably going to happen (except the Phil Jackson part, everyone knows that if he coaches again it will be in New York).
That summed up the E-mail exchange, miraculously, the NBA has already made us forget all about the idiotic lockout they had while getting us excited for the upcoming season. I can't wait.
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