As a superstar athlete, you have a cycle you go through with your respective franchise. Most of the time, you come in through the draft, when the team is somewhat down. The losses are a little heavy that first year, but you definitely see the star shine through, as the team has fed off his talent and energy enough to truly develop. Sophomore season rolls along, and the team makes a breakthrough, making the playoffs. An early exit occurs, and the team promises to get the star some help. So when the team promises to get you help over these next years, but the same result keeps happening, your star reaches a breaking point. This is where Chris Paul is at.
You saw the same type of cycle with LeBron James, but the King got to be a free agent. CP3 does not have such a luxury; he has to request a trade from a team currently owned by the commissioner and the other 29 NBA owners. As anyone can see from David Stern's blockage of the trade to the Lakers and overwhelming asking price for Paul to go to the Clippers, this is quite a feat to pull off. Chris Paul is a prisoner with David Stern as his warden; and it is an injustice that he is not in a Laker or even Clipper uniform.
First, look at the trades from a basketball standpoint. The Lakers dealt Lamar Odom (the reigning 6th man of the year) to the Hornets, while New Orleans also gained Luis Scola (One of the up and coming power forwards), Kevin Martin (one of the best scoring guards), and Goran Dragic (a solid backup point guard). Los Angeles would of course get Chris Paul, while Houston gained forward Pau Gasol from the Lakers. Basically, the Hornets, while losing their best player, gained four good ones, and also snagged a first round pick. This was the best kind of trade NOLA could have asked for; but not according to David Stern.
Maybe the Clippers' offer would be better? Let's give the Hornets one of the rising guards in the league in Eric Gordon, a solid 6th man with Chris Kaman, and a talented young forward in Al-Farouq Aminu, along with a 1st round pick for the coveted Paul. Once again, the Hornets are gaining players that can help now and possibly even more for the future. But for Stern and his gang, this was still not enough. They wanted young guard Eric Bledsoe too. I mean, why not just ask for Blake Griffin too?
The main question on everybody's mind is this: Why is David Stern and the other owners making a deal for Chris Paul seem impossible? There is the argument that the owners have been pushing Stern to prevent another player leaving a small market team to go to a larger market like LeBron and Carmelo did. The small market owners believe nobody will ever want to come play for them or stay with them, so they're putting their foot down. While I see their point here, I think this has been taken a bit too far. Preventing some stars from playing together is not going to change anything. To prevent it is actually hypocritical to the history of the NBA.
Think about the great NBA teams that were essentially superteams. The Lakers had Kareem Abdul-Jabar, James Worthy, and Magic Johnson on one team at a point, and even Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, and Elgin Baylor back in time. The Celtics had their trio of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish. There have been countless power duos, from Jordan and Pippen, to Stockton and Malone, to Kobe and Shaq, and even Penny and Shaq. I could go on and on here, but the point is that this concept is nothing new. It actually provided the NBA with its most glorious years.
But the real motive behind Stern's actions has nothing to do with the concept of superior teams. He knows that the NBA is still the owner of the Hornets, and there must be someone to buy the franchise. His method of thinking is that he needs Chris Paul to sell the franchise, a face to advertise to a bidder. So if he's going to give up the main selling point of the franchise, he wants everything and Tim Tebow in exchange. So it's not Chris Paul holding back the franchise; it's the franchise holding back Chris Paul.
Paul deserves to be able to do what every basketball player dreams of doing; playing under the biggest lights as one of biggest names. He tried to make it happen in New Orleans, giving his heart and soul to bring New Orleans to the playoffs. His performance last year against the Lakers in the playoffs was nothing short of remarkable. The most gifted point guard in the league did everything in his power to win, and it still was not enough. New Orleans was not going to do anything to help Paul's chances at a title or any further success, so he decided he wanted to leave, which he has every right to do.
There is not another player in the NBA as worthy as Chris Paul of having a shot somewhere else. He has been nothing short of sensational on the court, but he has also been one of the game's most cordial and giving ambassadors. You would think such actions would eventually be rewarded, let the good guy have his day. But all that really matters is the Hornets need to be sold, which mans Paul is its best shot. Stern is requiring Paul to give even more to a franchise he's already laid it all out for, and it's simply not right. The commissioner is slowly ruining his once pristine reputation with this whole situation, but he can save it with one action; let CP3 be free. Whether that's to New York, Boston, or Los Angeles, it's time to let the best point guard in the league shine somewhere else.
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