Originally Posted by
Saints Fan in A
It's not that idiotic, really. First, they have time. They don't have to deal him today. Paul and the NBPA's threat to sue will fall on deaf ears because truth be told, he's under contract. He cannot request a trade. To do so would be in violation of his contract and make him subject to a fine. He can be as pissed off as he wants to be. The reason why he wants a trade isn't because the next four months would be so horrible in New Orleans, but because he wants to protect his business interests moving forward. Fact is, the team that owns his rights at the end of the year can offer him significantly more than an outside franchise and there aren't many teams out there to begin with. The Hornets have made it clear that they WILL NOT give him up in a sign-and-trade because cap space isn't their issue. He would have to agree to forfeit nearly $40M (if not more) just to sign with a team with cap space. If he were to take less, he would give up much more than that. He's popular but he isn't LeBron James or Tiger Woods. The endorsements will only make up so much. For a player that didn't know if he would play again two years ago, passing up that kind of money will give him pause. Losing Paul for nothing isn't the worst thing in the world, if it comes to that. $18M would come free on the books and we've already lost David West. We're not about to contend. But it's a game of chicken and David Stern plays it better than most. Check his history, if you don't know.