New Orleans Pelicans: 3 Biggest What-ifs in Team History

What if the New Orleans Pelicans Had Traded Chris Paul to the Lakers?

At the time of the Paul trade, the New Orleans Pelicans were still the Hornets and they were owned by the NBA.

This ended up being one of the black marks against David Stern’s career as commissioner, as his decision to essentially take over the Hornets caused a lot of controversy around the league.

With an unhappy superstar point guard and no owner, Stern decided the best course of action was to trade Paul, purportedly for the “best deal” available.

Paul was traded to the Clippers for  Eric Gordon, center Chris Kaman, forward Al-Farouq Aminu and Minnesota’s unprotected 2012 first-round pick, which turned out to be Austin Rivers.

Let’s face it, the Pelicans would get more for Paul now at age 35 then they did then, when he was 26 and in the prime of his career.

The New Orleans Pelicans (Hornets) got fleeced by the league, especially considering Stern essentially blocked a trade that would have brought back a better package from the Lakers.

The Lakers deal would have given the Hornets  Lamar Odom, Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, Goran Dragic, and a first-round draft choice, which is a better haul than they got from the Clippers.

Only Austin Rivers remains from the four players the Pelicans got for Paul, while Dragic is still an effective point guard for the Miami Heat.

Not only would the Clippers been denied the “Lob City” era, but the Lakers would have paired Kobe with one of the best point guards in the NBA, a duo that almost certainly would have brought some additional hardware to the Lakers.

The Paul era was a flop in New Orleans and this trade was the gravy. Had they had an ownership group in place Paul may have wanted to stay, but even if not, they almost certainly could have gotten a better deal than the one Stern took.