The New Orleans Hornets are serious in their desire to deal Chris Paul. The Hornets point guard isn't likely to sign with his current team, and has been clearly insistent through his agent that he wants to move to another franchise, potentially the New York Knicks.
The other franchise in the picture? The Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers have two movable assets. They have the older Pau Gasol and the young Andrew Bynum. The Orlando Magic and the Hornets seem willing to part with Howard ONLY if Bynum is moved to them,. Adrian Wojranowski of Yahoo Sports with the report.
The Lakers and Hornets talked several days ago, league sources told Yahoo! Sports, but it was one of those circuitous conversations that left the sides unclear what it would take to get a deal done, and the talk ended with no formal offers. The Lakers and Hornets expect to speak again this week, sources said. The prospect of Pau Gasol as the primary player going to the Hornets won’t be acceptable, sources said. The Lakers will ultimately be willing to let New Orleans pick its player in the deal – Bynum or Gasol – but New Orleans is determined to get quality, and quantity, in a deal.
With a new offense and a new coach in place for the Lakers, Paul and Bryant could be one fierce backcourt to be dealt with. But they'd have to sacrifice some of their legendary backcourt size (and possibly the basketball) to win it all.
To discuss the possibility of Paul leaving the Hornets and Bynum or Gasol going there, go to At The Hive. To talk about one of the Laker bigs end up in New Orleans or Paul coming to Los Angeles, check out Silver Screen and Roll.