After rumors surfaced earlier this week that New Orleans Hornets All-World point guard Chris Paul was being courted by the Boston Celtics, here comes Chris Broussard of ESPN to burst Beantown’s bubble, reporting that CP3 would not sign an extension if traded to Boston during the season. The rumored deal would assuredly bring back Rajon Rondo to the Big Easy.
If true, this should come as a surprise to absolutely no one. Chris Paul has been flirting with the idea (re: slight fantasy) of playing in New York with comrade Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire since last summer, and I’m sure he would exhaust every opportunity to fulfill that dream before considering a second option, no matter how many hoops he and/or the NBA-owned Hornets would have to jump through to get him to the Big Apple.
To boot, the Celtics aren’t shaping up to be the best-suited franchise for an in-his-prime best point guard alive to compete big-time in a conference set up to be owned by the Miami Heat for the next few years. Vets Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett come off the books after this season, and Paul Pierce is signed until 2014, and he was drafted in 1998.
One thing is for certain though, Chris Paul is as good as gone from New Orleans. The new CBA isn’t even ratified yet, and CP3 has been linked to approximately 20 of the league’s 30 teams and maybe a few D-League squads.
The Hornets league-owned status most likely will keep Paul in New Orleans through the 66-game schedule at least, unless a gargantuan offer comes across the table that allows them to get around 75 cents for Paul’s dollar. Having Chris on the roster makes any potential sale more attractive, even though common knowledge is that he won’t be around after July 2012.