Lakers to get Paul for Bynum?

[Yogi]

LOL at Paul to Lakers... Can't beat em' join em?  People want to trade Rondo for this chump?  Every one who despises Lebron for what he did to Cleveland should do the same for any other superstar who wants out of his team. 

[BASS_THUMPER]

fans would love him there but paul is home already and when he done ballin leave his high tops and jersey in boston

[j804]

via Broussards twitter and a ESPN article

Sources say Lakers have plans to go after Dwight Howard AND CP3. Everyone not named Kobe is available.

It is no secret that the Los Angeles Lakers would like to trade for Dwight Howard or Chris Paul, but sources with knowledge of the situation say the Lakers actually have something greater in mind: acquiring both players.

Hoping to pull off a pair of blockbuster moves that would rock the NBA, the Lakers are willing to trade anyone on their roster outside of Kobe Bryant to bring Howard and Paul to Los Angeles, two sources said.

Whether the Lakers are able to make it happen remains to be seen, but with stars Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom on the roster, they have the talent and the financial capacity to make the trades work.

The Lakers have had cursory discussions with New Orleans about Paul within the past few days. It is not clear whether they have spoken with Orlando.

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak would not comment when asked about the Lakers' intentions to trade for both superstars, but in addressing general trade rumors surrounding his team, he gave the company line, saying the Lakers are happy with their current squad.

"This time of year, there are a lot of rumors going around," Kupchak said in a telephone conversation. "I'm aware of them and I'm not going to comment. Our comments have been pretty consistent -- this group can contend, so we'll just play it out. Nothing is about to happen. It's much too early in the season.

"We don't even have a collective bargaining agreement to refer to."

While Paul's first choice is to join buddies Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire on the New York Knicks, he would sign a long-term contract to stay with the Lakers, according to a source with knowledge of Paul's thinking. And Howard's fondness for Los Angeles is well-known, leaving no doubt that he would commit to the Lakers long-term.

Sources say Paul and Howard have had several conversations with each other about the possibility of playing together on various teams.

Several trade combinations would work for the Lakers. For instance, they could send Gasol to New Orleans for Paul, and Bynum to Orlando for Howard. If the Lakers threw Odom into the trade to Orlando, they could sweeten the offer for the Magic by taking back the contract of Hedo Turkoglu.

"The Lakers are interested in trying to do something for both (Paul and Howard)," a Western Conference executive said. "I would hate to see it happen. I want Howard to stay in the East and Paul to go to the East.

"If it does happen, it'll make things much harder for us."

The Lakers are not the only team in Los Angeles that's thinking big.

Sources say the Clippers also have intentions to go after both Howard and Paul. And like the Lakers, the Clippers are positioned -- financially and talent-wise to make such a move.

Unlike the Lakers, the Clippers would not have to make two trades. They could use their wealth of young talent to trade for either Paul or Howard and then sign the other as a free agent next summer when they'll have enough cap room to offer a maximum-salary contract. The one player the Clippers will not offer in a trade is Blake Griffin.

"The Lakers have company (in going after Howard and Paul)," another Western Conference official said. "The Clippers are doing the same thing."

Senior writer Chris Broussard covers the NBA for ESPN The Magazine.

So much for everybody saying the whole "CP3 won't sign a extension anywhere" this pretty much tells you he's not interested in Boston one of the two will end up in LA  

[PosImpos]

i don't think it's likely to happen, but i'd just like to point out the obvious here . . .

if cp3 and howard both end up on the lakers with kobe, it doesn't matter who else is on that team.

titles.  plural.  done.  no point in following the nba.

[KGs Knee]

i don't think it's likely to happen, but i'd just like to point out the obvious here . . .

if cp3 and howard both end up on the lakers with kobe, it doesn't matter who else is on that team.

titles.  plural.  done.  no point in following the nba.

Lets hope neither New Orleans nor Orlando are interested in Gasol.  3 yrs 18+mil each is a hefty burden, I doubt New Orleans is interested.  Who knows about Otis Smith down in Orlando, he does make crazy deals.

[KP43]

http://www.iamagm.com/news/2011/12/06/lakers.looking.trade.both.chris.paul.and.dwight.howard.everybody.except.kobe

[SHAQATTACK]

Who ever gets CP3 ( major power) will have the star power to retake the hold LBJ & Wade have cornered at the moment.

Every team owner out there knows CP3 & Dwight = Championships

The LAkers know this too...they have a ton of great big men and talent, but it doesn't stack up to what CP3 +D12 bringsd to the table.

Dwight looks the Celtic part..... just as BillRussell and KG and Parrish look in Green ........AWESOME!!!


We have the  "ONE " thing nobody lese does......

"DOC" ....he is the key

[BballTim]

i don't think it's likely to happen, but i'd just like to point out the obvious here . . .

if cp3 and howard both end up on the lakers with kobe, it doesn't matter who else is on that team.

titles.  plural.  done.  no point in following the nba.

  Funny, that's what a lot of people said about Miami...

[PosImpos]

i don't think it's likely to happen, but i'd just like to point out the obvious here . . .

if cp3 and howard both end up on the lakers with kobe, it doesn't matter who else is on that team.

titles.  plural.  done.  no point in following the nba.

  Funny, that's what a lot of people said about Miami...

that's true, but the main difference would be that the Lakers are much more likely to have a respectable cast of supporting players, and having a superstar PG / SG / C trio is a lot more balanced than SG/SF/PF.  especially when you consider how similar wade and james are other than their size.

also, the heat did come very close to a title this past season despite taking most of the regular season just to get on the same page, and having some very serious injuries to their key supporting players.  if they can put together a decent, healthy supporting cast they should totally dominate the eastern conference as predicted.



the bottom line is that if the lakers could pull off those trades, the NBA for the next 5-6 years would be focused around the rivalry between the Lakers and the Heat. 

it would be like the 80's with bird and magic, only much less exciting for celtics fans (also not suggesting lebron / wade / howard / kobe / paul etc. are on the same level as bird / magic / kareem / mchale).  the thunder / knicks / bulls would play the role of the rockets / sixers / pistons.

[RyNye]

Boy, am I sick of all this hyperventilating. How do people propose the Lakers get both Paul and Howard? They don't have the trade assets OR cap room for both. Honestly, unless they really blow up their roster or get a third team involved (or take on Arenas/Hedo), I find it unlikely they can even realistically get ONE of them this season. The reason the Lakers are so deadly is because they are so big. If they get rid of some bigs for Chris Paul ... so what? They have an injury prone point guard whose production has steadily declined for the past two years and an aging superstar shooting guard who won't be able to keep up his production for much longer. Yeah, real championship contender there. And if they get just Howard? Yeah that's a deadly team, I agree, but with no back court (Kobe himself has been pretty adamant that they biggest problems the Lakers face is on their back court). OKC, Memphis, and Dallas would all rip through that back court, and have enough front court strength to keep Howard from going completely nuts. If the Lakers get BOTH, then they are certainly a strong contender, but the idea that this automatically upgrades them to complete league dominance is absurd. They would have no depth, which is important when you have one aged starter and another injury prone one, and Howard, as impressive as he is, isn't an unstoppable offensive force (as has been seen in just about every play-off series the Magic have been in). Hell, the complete lack of any suitable forward on this team is a pretty big hole (the Heat would tear through that, as would OKC, Dallas, NY, etc.).

Even if we ignore the fact that Chris Paul has mostly been impressive because of his high usage rates on a team with no other options (which will change on a team where there ARE other options, especially ones like Kobe and DH who will be demanding the ball), which is an issue in and of itself, all of this blustering about how it will be automatic 6-peat is idiotic. Yes, it will be a very good basketball team, and may very well win a championship. But to say that it will automatically make the league uninteresting, as if it in any way decreases the skill of the other good teams (especially ones that match up well with the weaknesses in that Lakers line-up), is incredibly hyperbolic.

So, CALM DOWN.

[Yogi]

   It's fun to imagine CP3 and Kobe on the same team.  If one of them takes the role of a primary ball handler then the other would almost be reduced to a spot up shooter.  There are a lot cheaper options for spot up shooters in the league...

[j804]

Not so quick apparently according to ..
http://t.co/nWSUMFYW

Orlando isn't as desperate to unload Howard and would ask for quite the return in a trade with the Lakers, wanting Andrew Bynum and Kobe Bryant, according to a person familiar with Orlando's thinking who was not authorized to speak. He appeared to be joking. Maybe.

The Lakers and Magic haven't even spoken yet, despite an uptick in media reports that the Lakers covet Howard and Paul.

The Lakers have had a conversation with New Orleans, though the possibilities of a trade were "not even close," said a person familiar with the Lakers' thinking.

The Hornets and Magic are looking for youth and hope for the future if they trade Paul and Howard.