Chris Paul: Where For Art Thou
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 9:43AM Joe Simmons 
You had to know that as a Knicks fan I have been waiting for this day since the announcement at his wedding. (Hey Melo, where was my invitation)... Anyways when Melo and CP3 made the announcement that they would join Amare "STAT" Stoudemire on the New York Knicks squad I was happier than a kid with a bag full of halloween candy.
No one except for Carmelo himself is happier than I am that this deal is finally done. As a Knicks fan, I am excited that they got it done. Some feel like we gave up too much, I disagree. Although I would have loved for Raymond Felton to stay and be a part of this, I would have given up the same pieces to get one of if not the best offensive players in the game for a few guys who combine for his same stats in the same position.
Now that two - thirds of the deal is done. I have to wonder if the third leg will ever get to be finalized since contraction is sure to hit the NBA and hit it hard. I suspect owners are going to try to make it harder for players to leave one team and handcuff them in the trade process. So that leaves Chris Paul in limbo. If you really think about it though, he only has one year left on his contract and so does Deron Williams.
Yesterday news surfaced that Deron Williams wanted to be a Knick. That's good news too, because now the Knicks have options. Getting a guy like Derron or Chris Paul would be the completion of the puzzle. However the Knicks got themselves a proven veteran in Chauncey Billups in this trade. Chauncey has made it clear that he wants to be a part of Denvers, front office team when he retires so I wouldn't expect more than one or two seasons out of him.
Now I can just sit and wait. I will enjoy Melo and STAT but I will be awaiting the arrival of Chris Paul to my long loved Knicks. It's been a long time since we have had more than one person to cheer for on our roster. Now we have two guys who can go for 30 plus on any given night. If this works out like I think it can, this year will not be lost.
Speak on this. Let us know what you think about the trade in the comments section.
Thanks for tuning in... Stay Breezy ~ I'm Out!
Reader Comments (5)
You think there will be contraction? I know they said Stern talked about it, but I'll believe it when I see it. But let's say they do contract. How hard do you think it'll be? down to 28 teams? 24 teams?
@Keith
I doubt it but it is an option. Stern is more about expansion so it is highly unlikely. However if they do no less than 28..
Man if they get Paul or Williams, it is a game changer. It makes what Miami did even smarter. Now the league will have 5 or 6 teams that can compete like the old teams used to.
I really hate that the top players in the league are starting to embrace the concept of 'superteams'. I would much rather see Melo going against Amare's team or Lebron going against Wade's team or CP3 going against Deron Williams' team rather than a 3 v 3 tournament comprised of different members of the US Olympic team. I'm not sure if the Knicks made the right choice by making the trade when they most likely would have gotten him in free agency. I highly doubt there will be a lockout and I'm sure that Knicks management would have been able to convince him that the money he would lose by waiting could easily have been made up in endorsements. This era of teaming up is just going to keep the league topheavy with smaller market teams (with the exception of OKC and their brilliant, awesome, stud GM Sam Presti) without any chance of getting top players or having a legitamate chance at a title.
I agree with anonymous... I hate this top heavy "superteams". It's just a different envirnoment from the 90's and before. When we listen to interviews, the best players back then used to hate each other. MJ hated Miller, Miller hated Ewing and vice versa, Magic hated Larry bird. I say hate as in they would have never wanted to play along side each other unless it was for the red, white and blue in the olympics. If you look at most of the teams that dominated back then with more than one super star player was because they were drafted. They weren't traded at the same year like miami or knicks did. Boston could be included but i say no because they got together towards the end of their career which happened even in the earlier years. I feel like the superstars are not as competitive as they used to be (probably cuz of how the media and the game is now. going back to your article about kids not playing as hard as they used). I also hate it because it leaves small market teams without a superstar and no chance of getting one.