Trade is on hold. As a Laker fan, I don't like this trade at all. Launching Gasol and Odom and keeping Bynum seems pretty dumb to me.
If I were the Lakers and had to trade two of their three big guys, I'd have made the trade for Dwight Howard, not Chris Paul. First of all, a healthy Chris Paul was one of the top five players in the league. But, he's had a rash of injuries and he didn't seem to have that same explosiveness he once had. And, while the NBA may have become a point guard league, its still more difficult to find a center like Howard than it is find a good point guard. You can still find a decent point guard in the late first round like an Aaron Brooks. The opposing guards were torching the Lakers, but that didn't mean the Lakers needed the best point guard. The Lakers just needed a good enough point guard- somebody who could get assists and play tenacious defense on the opposing point guard. I didn't think this proposed trade was that good of a deal for the Lakers, but I think the NBA league blocking this might end up being even worse for the Lakers. I like the skill Gasol brings to the court, but he's not mentally tough as he displayed in the playoffs last season where he disappeared after his girl friend dumped him. Gasol and Odom will be really hurt that they were almost traded, and their play will reflect that this season. And, the Hornets probably got the worst deal of everybody when the NBA blocked this trade. The Hornets got screwed by their fellow small market owners, most notably Dan Gilbert. If the Hornets were going to trade Paul, this was a pretty good trade- they got a lot of good pieces. But, after blocking this trade, the NBA can't turn around and then allow another trade for Chris Paul. Otherwise, it'd show preferential treatment. So the Hornets are going to lose Chris Paul and get nothing for it in return. From what I've read, this was a real slap in the face to the Hornets GM and everybody involved because the NBA had promised the Hornets they could make that trade only to block it at the last minute. And, I'm sure the Anaheim Angels aren't happy about this trade either. They pushed all their chips in and signed Pujos to a bad contract to try to replace the Dodgers as LA's baseball team, but this potential trade bumped their Pujos signing from the front page.
So i finally saw who was involved in the trade and I have to say that the league really screwed New Orleans. This move could start a chain of events that could end with the Hornets leaving New Orleans. Amazing that this has happened because Cuban doesn't want the Lakers to get better.
If I'm the Hornets, I'd do Bynom/Gasol and let you keep Odom. If you're going to trade two of the three, the Lakers picked the right two to let go of.
