Chris Paul Trade Request Puts Knicks In Sunshine, Hornets In Hot Seat

The Golden State Warriors are one of three teams now at the center of Chris Paul trade rumors, as multiple reporters led by Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski listed the W's, Boston Celtics and L.A. Clippers as the clubs in serious talks with the New Orleans Hornets for the services of the All-Star point guard. SI.com's Sam Amick reports that for the Warriors' part, the team's three most recent lottery picks have been included in the offer for CP3.

Those picks would be stud guard Stephen Curry, defensive big man Ekpe Udoh and 2011 pick Klay Thompson. Udoh showed promise late last season after starting his rookie campaign injured, and Thompson enters a league coveted athletic wing. Curry, of course, is one of the league's hottest young guards, a killer sharpshooter who has erased questions about his point guard abilities in short order.

Amick also reports that the Warriors would need to waive Andris Biedrins and sign coveted free agent center Tyson Chandler -- a close friend of CP3's -- to have a reasonable belief that Paul could be retained beyond the 2011-12 season.

For more on the Warriors, visit Golden State Of Mind and SB Nation Bay Area.

The New Orleans Hornets are seriously engaged in Chris Paul trade talks with three teams, reports Yahoo!'s ace Adrian Wojnarowski: the L.A. Clippers, Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors.

The parameters of any such deals aren't remotely clear, though John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune tweeted early Tuesday that "good offers" were coming in for the All-Star point guard. One would imagine that guards like Rajon Rondo, Stephen Curry and Eric Gordon could be in play for New Orleans.

CP3 had reportedly informed the Hornets in recent days that he had no intention of signing a contract extension, and that if he were traded he'd like to go to the New York Knicks. It has been reported that Paul would like to join his friends Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony in the Big Apple; if he is traded to New York before the in-season deadline, he'd be eligible for a larger contract as a 2012 free agent. But Wojnarowski reports that if the Warriors or Clippers sign free agent Tyson Chandler, he could change his mind on staying long-term. Paul and Chandler had previously played together in New Orleans.

If CP3 won't agree to an extension with one of New Orleans' preferred trade partners, it's unclear whether those teams will offer enough to pull the point guard. Stay tuned.

For more on the Hornets, visit At The Hive.

Trade rumors circling around New Orleans Hornets star Chris Paul, who can become a free agent in 2012, could be resolved before the team's opener as the franchise's management seeks to avoid a repeat of the months-long Carmelo Anthony drama, report Chris Broussard and Marc Stein of ESPN.

ESPN reports that Paul met with New Orleans GM Dell Demps on Monday, where the All-Star reportedly continued to decline an offered extension, instead opting to hit free agency in July 2012. CP3, a six-year veteran, has never been a free agent.

The situation is complicated by the fact that the Hornets are owned by the league and overseen by a president, Jac Sperling, who was appointed by NBA commissioner David Stern.

ESPN reports that in addition to the L.A. Lakers, the Golden State Warriors, L.A. Clippers, Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks have expressed interest in making a CP3 deal happen. But it's unclear what if any assets those teams will relinquish without an assurance that Paul will sign a new deal in the offseason or agree to an extension upon being traded.

For more on the Hornets, visit SB Nation's At The Hive.

Chris Paul has been at the center of trade rumors since the day the NBA lockout ended, but most of those rumors have centered in New York City. Monday's news takes us cross-country, as one report has the Lakers getting involved in the CP3 sweepstakes.

Here's Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski adding a twist to the story:

The Lakers and Hornets talked several days ago, league sources told Yahoo! Sports, but it was one of those circuitous conversations that left the sides unclear what it would take to get a deal done, and the talk ended with no formal offers. The Lakers and Hornets expect to speak again this week, sources said. The prospect of Pau Gasol as the primary player going to the Hornets won’t be acceptable, sources said. The Lakers will ultimately be willing to let New Orleans pick its player in the deal – Bynum or Gasol – but New Orleans is determined to get quality, and quantity, in a deal.

The question, of course, is whether Chris Paul would be willing to sign an extension in L.A. The assumption is that Chris Paul wants to play in a major market for a championship contender, but Kobe Bryant's not getting any younger, and especially if the Lakers give up Andrew Bynum or Pau Gasol in a trade, it's an open question as to how long they'll qualify as true contenders. One thing's for certain, though: Chris Paul could certainly help the cause.

The day that Yahoo! reported Chris Paul's camp had told the New Orleans Hornets that the All-Star guard would not be signing a contract extension and would like to be traded to the New York Knicks, Paul was actually in the Crescent City to take advantage of Hornets' facilities being open to NBA players for the first time since June. He told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that the reports were just rumors.

"It is just rumors; you can't control it," Paul said. "It's always going to happen, and it's part of the game. I'm just happy to be back with my team."

The Times-Picayune had previously reported that Paul's camp had made no such request to the Hornets' front office.

Paul led the Hornets to the playoffs last season where New Orleans put a spook into the No. 2 seed L.A. Lakers, stretching the then two-time defending champions to six games. Paul averaged 22 points, 11.5 assists and almost 7 rebounds per game during that series. He's made three All-NBA teams and has two top-five MVP voting finishes.

Chris Paul's agent has reportedly told the New Orleans Hornets that the All-Star guard will not sign a contract extension with the team, and would like to be traded to the New York Knicks to play with friends Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire. There's just one problem: the Knicks have almost nothing to offer the Hornets in such an exchange.

That will be a problem for Hornets GM Dell Demps, who surely realizes that CP3 is one of the few truly elite players in the game and that without him New Orleans is destined for the lottery. (Some evidence of that can be found in the Hornets' lack of success in seasons during which Paul was limited by injury compared to the seasons in which he's been almost fully available.)

Other teams will be willing and able to offer much better packages than the Knicks, who beyond Melo and Amar'e have players like Chauncey Billups, Toney Douglas, Iman Shumpert, Landry Fields and Jerome Jordan. (Why do I hear crickets?) The Knicks also can't trade any future first-round picks before 2018. Yes, 2018.

But if Paul won't agree to consider an extension anywhere else -- in L.A. with the Clippers, in Sacramento with the Kings, in Portland with the Blazers, in Oklahoma City with the Thunder -- Demps will be stuck.

Given that the NBA still owns the Hornets, this is a mighty sticky situation. The Knicks could help their cause by finding a way to acquire some tradable assets pronto.