Chris Paul?

[GritsRgreat]

A Bobcat??

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/07/17/1569144/chris-paul-in-a-bobcats-uniform.html

Chris Paul in a Bobcats' uniform?

By Rick Bonnell

[email protected]

Posted: Monday, Jul. 19, 2010

New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul (3) may desire a return to his home state with the Charlotte Bobcats.

Chris Paul as a Charlotte Bobcat isn't crazy.

It's unlikely. It's undoubtedly problematic. But it's more than some message-board fantasy if the Bobcats are willing to make a bunch of hard choices that just might test the patience of anyone who has bought a single-game ticket to watch this team play.

Gerald Wallace? Gone.

First-round picks? Gone. (Not that they've drafted particularly well.)

And in the short run, anyway, Bobcats owner Michael Jordan better hope those "Jumpman" sneakers stay popular, because he'll need the royalty fees: The bills will pile up.

But it's doable, and I'm told it's a twinkle in the eyes of this team's decision-makers. There are a handful of places Paul would want to relocate in a trade, and Charlotte – near his suburban Winston-Salem home and possessing a Hall-of-Fame coach – should be among the viable candidates.

Paul is wondering whether he'll ever win in New Orleans. A good man, GM Jeff Bower, lost his job over this. At some point (if he hadn't already) Paul is likely to walk into the corporate offices and spell it out that he needs a change. He figures to have a short list of alternatives. I suspect the Bobcats will be included.

He's a Jordan Brand endorser and was raised in North Carolina. The Bobcats made a huge miscalculation not consolidating picks 5 and 13 in 2005 to acquire him. This is a chance, expensive as it is, for a do-over.

Any respectable offer would have to include a combination of Erick Dampier's unguaranteed $13 million salary, plus Wallace's All-Star ability, plus a bunch of picks and maybe Gerald Henderson and/or D.J. Augustin to even be in the running.

It also might take shipping Boris Diaw to a third team and who-knows-what other concessions. That's what happens when you ask another team for a great player still entering his best years.

No matter what you think of Hornets owner George Shinn, he's no fool. He'll remember that the Hornets once drafted Kobe Bryant, then traded his rights for Vlade Divac. That wasn't a horrible decision at the time, but it has to sting to have given up a Hall-of-Famer for so little.

But Shinn has problems; he's looking to sell his team in a town with limited potential. Jordan already got his cut-rate deal from Bob Johnson.

And, not incidentally, the Hornets have one heck of a young point guard in Darren Collison. They're better situated than most to move a front-line playmaker and come out of the experience whole, if not better.

MJ gets all that, as I'm sure he gets that the no-hand check rule now makes point guard the NBA's most important position.

And the hunt ensues.

Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/07/17/1569144/chris-paul-in-a-bobcats-uniform.html#ixzz0uBCqPukv

[pantherfan49]

Reading these boards before posting is way overrated.

[Dpantherman]

i would have given you a pass if it weren't on the front page, and been there for hours

[C-A-T-S]

Zomg 4 realz?!!:party: