Los Angeles Lakers Rumors: When Chris Paul was traded away by the New Orleans Hornets, he reportedly only wanted to play in Los Angeles.
With the most recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors, we take a trip down memory lane. This is a memory that Lakers fans are not fond of, as it basically signaled the beginning of the end of their dominance in the Western Conference with Kobe Bryant.
Back in 2011, the Lakers were looking for a spark. They had won two consecutive NBA Championships before falling in the Western Conference semifinals that past season. The Lakers wanted to make a big splash and thought they had accomplished that by trading for Chris Paul.
Paul was a member of the New Orleans Hornets, who were owned by the NBA at the time. The Lakers thought they had come to a deal with the Hornets, now Pelicans, to acquire Paul for Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom.
The Lakers were under the impression that they just added one of the best point guards in the NBA to play alongside Bryant. It would have given the Lakers one of the greatest backcourt duos in the NBA, putting them right back on track to be title contenders.
Los Angeles Lakers
As all Lakers and basketball fans know, that trade actually didn’t happen. David Stern, who claimed to be acting owner of the Hornets, pulled the plug on the deal and vetoed it. The Lakers and their fans know how it went down after that.
Paul would eventually be traded to the rival Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers would send over what Stern considered a better package of Al-Farouq Aminu, Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman and a 2012 first round draft pick that turned into Austin Rivers. There is a strong argument that can be made that the package the Clippers offered didn’t pale in comparison to the Lakers offer, but what was done is done.
Recently, it was revealed that the Lakers and Clippers were not the only teams looking to acquire Paul. In a recent episode of the Woj Pod, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe of ESPN, there were other teams that wanted to acquire Paul but those offers were kept at bay because Paul did not want to commit to those teams long-term.
"“When Chris Paul was in New Orleans, there were two teams that wanted to be aggressive in trading for him and he said ‘I will not re-sign with you,’” said Wojnarowski, referring to the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors."
Anyone reading this now would say that Paul missed out on great opportunities with the Celtics and Warriors. However, back in 2011, neither franchise was in the place that they are now.
The Warriors were improving, but not yet contenders. In the 2011-12 season, David Lee was their best player according to Basketball-Reference. Could you imagine how the Warriors fortunes would have been had they traded someone such as Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson for Paul?
While the Warriors were on the upswing, the Celtics were on the downswing. Like the Lakers, they were looking for a spark to keep them in the title picture. They reached the Eastern Conference Finals after the 2011-12 season, but the Big Three era with Paul Pierce, Kevin Durant and Ray Allen was on its last legs.
Instead, Paul hoped to join one of the Los Angeles teams, with the Lakers being his preference because of Bryant. Paul didn’t get his wish, as he landed with the Clippers but made the most of it.
Since that trade was made, the Clippers have trended upwards while the Lakers back went down. The Lakers made the postseason two more seasons after that, but are now riding a four-year drought. The Clippers, on the other hand, made the postseason every season with Paul on the roster.
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The Clippers traded Paul this offseason to the Houston Rockets, ending an era for their franchise. The Lakers are about to begin one with Lonzo Ball as the new face of the franchise. The outlook of the franchises would differ drastically had Paul ended up with the Lakers, and will forever be a topic of discussion for basketball fans that ask, what if?