The Trade: Chris Paul for Stephen Curry, Ekpe Udoh and Klay Thompson.
Additional Notes: For Paul to agree, Golden State would have to use its amnesty on Andris Biedrins and sign Tyson Chandler for whatever it takes. That's a ton of money, but Golden State's new owners (Joe Lacob and Peter Guber) are your classic "I just bought an NBA team! I want to win now! Why can't we win now???? Let's win now!" guys. I know our pal Marc Stein reported this afternoon that the Warriors are hesitating to include Curry in any Paul deal, but couldn't that just be posturing? I think those owners would make all of the aforementioned moves (and spend the additional millions it took) without blinking.
When I spent time with Lacob last March at the Sloan Conference, I was stunned by how adamantly he wanted to win right away — part of it was admirable, part of it made me think, Oh, man, all bets are off for this guy from a Dumb Trade/Dumb Contract standpoint. The good news here: Turning Curry, Udoh, Thompson and $27 million of dead Biedrins money into the league's best point guard and the second-best player on last year's NBA champion isn't dumb.
The Verdict: This trade actually works AND makes sense. New Orleans flips Paul into three cheap pieces, saves $8 million, rebuilds around Curry and still has about $21 million to spend on free agents. Let's say the Hornets re-signed David West and used their extra cap space on a rebounder (say, Kris Humphries) and a one-year bid on an amnesty guy (say, Baron Davis). That's a pretty fascinating team, right? Curry, West, Okafor, Humphries, Thompson, Trevor Ariza, Jarret Jack, Udoh and Baron Davis??? Meanwhile, Golden State ends up with a nucleus of Paul, Chandler, David Lee and either Monta Ellis or whomever they get in a deal for Monta Ellis. (Andre Iguodala? Rudy Gay?) As Jack Horner's editor would say, that's a real team, Jack.
My Final Prediction: Chris Paul to Golden State for Curry, Udoh and Thompson, followed by Golden State using its amnesty on Biedrins and signing Chandler. Welcome to relevancy, Warriors fans. You deserve it.http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7327616/the-fourth-day-nba-christmas
This FanPost is a submission from a member of the mighty Golden State of Mind community. While we're all here to throw up that W, these words do not necessarily reflect the views of the GSoM Crew. Still, chances are the preceding post is Unstoppable Baby!


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