My allegiance to Hornets basketball spans nearly two decades across two cities from the days of Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson to the Baron Davis era to the current reign of Chris Paul. Begrudgingly, I watched star after star skip town either by trade or through free agency. I watched Grandmama light up the Garden for the Knicks, 'Zo become an interior force and later champion with Miami. I saw the team trade away a kid they drafted fresh out of high school in 1996 named Kobe Bryant to the Lakers, and then sat back and watched him develop into the closest thing to Michael Jordan since His Airness retired. There have been enough major exiles from the Hornets franchise to convince even loyal fans to leave the team as well. However, it seemed as one star departed, another came in. LJ and 'Zo were replaced by guys like Glen Rice and Anthony Mason. Kobe was swapped for Vlade Divac. Baron Davis was eventually replaced by CP3. There was always just enough to keep their head above water. The trademark upheaval of talent in N.O. is expected to go full swing in the next eight months, with All-Star forward David West expected to his free agency next week and CP3 entering the open market next summer. Both are 50-50 shots at best to return to the purple and teal. Chris Paul had emerged as my favorite Hornet since the 'Zo days and he will be the guy I will most hate to see go, mainly because we never got to see what Kobe would have become had he stayed with the Hornets.
With that being said, when word broke out this week of a rumored trade that would send Paul to Boston in exchange for Rajon Rondo, I was surprisingly all for it. It's not because I'm a fan of Rondo, because I do believe the kid is a poor man's Jason Kidd: a triple-double candidate with a terrible jumper who dominates with athleticism moreso than pure talent. My co-signing of the CP3-to-Boston trade is two-fold: For one, it allows the Hornets to get something of value for a guy who almost certainly won't be back after this season. Think about it. Why would Paul stay after this season, especially if West signs elsewhere in the next few days? Outside of West, Paul's next best teammates are a slightly-less-crazy version of Ron Artest(Trevor Ariza) and a man who will end his career as either a poor man's Dikembe Mutombo or Theo Ratliff(Emeka Okafor). There's no way he competes for a title in the West against the Lakers and Mavs and Spurs and Thunder with this supporting cast. In Boston, he'd join a talented-albeit-aging roster that features three potential Hall of Famers.
Secondly and perhaps most selfishly, it allows me to finally put the nail in the coffin of my long tenure as a fan of the Hornets. I know diehard fans are supposed to stick through thick and thin, but I defy any fan of any team to try and match the number of big names that have walked out of that door for seemingly bags of beans. This is the same franchise that dumped an All-Star like Baron Davis for a couple expiring contracts in Dale Davis and Speedy Claxton. At some point, you have to say enough's enough. The departure of Paul is the last straw. As we've seen with LeBron and 'Melo and others, loyalty to the franchise is way at the bottom of priorities for big free agents coming from small-market teams. Chris Paul will be 27 in May and his ailing knees are probably going to take a couple years off his career. He wants to win now and it's going to be hard for him to turn down the thought of playing in L.A. or N.Y. instead of sticking with a team that doesn't even have a real owner yet. If Rondo-for-Paul is really on the table, then it's a deal both teams should jump on, even with CP3 saying he won't sign an extension if dealt to the Celtics.
Why trade Rondo for a Chris Paul rental if you're Boston? There's a couple reasons. First, Paul's reluctance to play in Boston might be swayed when he actually suits up and realizes he doesn't have to put more weight on those aching knees by carrying the team every night. On top of that, he's instantly going from a middle-tier team, at best, in the West to one of the best in the East. The presence of Paul would make the Celtics the favorites in the East, even over the defending Eastern champion Heat, mainly because Miami and other contenders won't be able to sag off of Paul's jumper the way they did with Rondo. Boston will have guys like Paul Pierce and KG putting the pressure on Paul to stay and it will be hard to tell them no if Paul helps them deliver their 18th championship banner. Even if Paul does leave Boston at the end of the year, you've saved money by getting out of the Rondo contract and can now take a stab at another star. The opportunity to upgrade at point guard by bringing in arguably the best player at that position as well as the potential that he might re-sign(remember, in 2007, there were many who believed Garnett would never go to Boston because he'd never sign an extension there) far outweighs the risk of trading a franchise cornerstone for a five-month rental.
For New Orleans, the presence of Rondo softens the blow of the loss of Paul. While it would be in the team's interest to try their best to re-sign Paul, that ship may have sailed and Paul's cranky knees might make him a wild card to sign long-term if they continue to get worse. In Rondo, they get a downgrade but only a slight one and they'll have a star that's locked up long-term that they can build around. It's the move that makes the most sense. You don't want to end up like Cleveland and Toronto and be left with nothing because you put all your eggs in the basket of hoping your franchise guy is going to stay put when he hits the open market. Last year, the 'Melo drama may have hurt the Nuggets but they made the right move in dealing Anthony and fleecing the Knicks in a trade that set Denver up beautifully going forward. The same needs to happen here in New Orleans, as well as in Orlando, who are dealing with a similar situation with Dwight Howard and have a rumored deal on the table with the Nets that would send promising young center Brook Lopez and picks to the Magic for Doomsday.
The new CBA may have been hammered out with the hopes that it would help smaller market teams level the playing field with their bigger market counterparts, but there's one thing a collective bargaining agreement can't do: instill loyalty into a star who's eyes widen with the hopes of bigger and better things. What owners didn't understand when they went to the mattresses for months with the players union is that big stars want to play big games in big markets. LeBron wanted to bring his talents to South Beach. 'Melo wanted to drain threes in front of sold-out, roaring crowds in the Big Apple. A guy as likable and gregarious as Dwight Howard is going to pine for the bright lights of Hollywood. A driven star like Chris Paul is going to want to chase rings in a title-heavy town like Boston. Nobody wants to light it up in front of a half-packed house in the boonies. It's a disadvantage to fans like myself who hate to watch stars kick rocks year after year but it's something that could be made less painful when you strike while the iron is hot.
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