So the NBA season has started off with some fireworks...well not exactly. Guess it would have really been a good start if David Stern and the league would have approved the Chris Paul trade to The LAL but as we've seen it all play out that undoubtedly was not going to happen. Apparently several NBA owners complained that this was not good for the league and several small market teams but where is the problem?
First off the Lakers did have to give up quite a bit. They sent Pau Gasol to the Rockets and Lamar Odom to the Hornets who last year were their number two and three scorers on the team. to me the Hornets,the small market team, came out on top. They received Odom,Luis Scola,Kevin Martin and goran Dragic along with future draft picks in the deal... Come on that makes the Hornets a playoff team right there. The Rockets also benefited by filling the void left by the retirement of Yao Ming with Gasol.
Yes the Lakers got one, if not the best,point guards in the game but they are also having to lean heavily on the injury prone Andrew Bynum to pick up the slack that Gasol and Odom use to carry. We know they also planned to make a play for Dwight Howard but it's looking like his first choice is New Jersey.
I can understand the argument for not wanting the larger market teams to form these "super teams" but I don't think this would seal the deal for the Lakers and put them over the top. Kobe would have to coexist with Paul which might take awhile and Bynum would have to avoid the injuries these teams are inevitable and are going to form in free agency anyway. The best thing for these other teams is to gather good mid level players in these trades and hope great young talent comes along in the draft. For now get over it and get on with the season. Great trade all around for all teams and I'm sure this isn't the last we will see concerning Paul and the Lakers.
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