Hold on...you're hesitant to trade for CP3?

We wouldn’t trade ALL our young players+take on one of their bad deals. It’d either be Curry, one of Gallo/Randolph and maybe Chandler for CP3 and Okafor or a tad more for just CP3 and somebody else to make the salaries match. But no way we’d trade our whole team to get him. We don’t know until the deal is done, but saying it’s a bad trade before you see who we’d trade for is pure speculation.

Agreed. The best thing that could happen to the Knicks is if all the guys they traded for play amazingly. Turiaf returns to his scoring Gonzaga days (his words), Anthony Randolph plays like Kevin Garnett, Azubuike scores 20 a game on 50% shooting, and Felton gets 15/8. At that point, you can trade a few guys for Paul (if his mobility is ok) and Okafor.

I really do. But we’re getting attached to a team that hasn’t even played a regular season game yet. We don’t know what Gallo will do next season. We don’t know how the Warriors trade will pan out. But what CP3 brings to the table, when healthy, is the best PG and arguably the best player in the league. Do we need to surround him with good players? Absolutely. And I have no doubt in my mind that Walsh will make sure he does that, because you want Paul coming into a contending team, not the Hornets v2.0.

And like I said, I still think his value is low now because of the injury. When he’s beasting come the trade deadline, that’ll mean NO is most likely in the playoffs, which would probably mean he’s less inclined to moving. That’s why the timing, in that regard, is perfect. Sure, Felton becomes a back-up. But we can use him to share time with Paul, so he recovers better his first year back and takes it easy on that knee.

My point was, in a nutshell, that saying it’ll be a bad move before our talented but young guys play is not smart. Randolph might get injured again, Gallo could remain stagnant-it probably won’t happen, but you never know. We’re wouldn’t be trading Randolph the All-Star, but Randolph the young kid with potential.

You’d have to overwhelm NO with an offer right now, because they know they’ve got 2 years to turn this around and keep Paul, so they’re not desperate.

As time goes by, if NO doesn’t improve, it will take less and less to get Paul if NO starts to believe that they’re definitely going to lose him. So it’s kind of a suckers play to get him now.

Consider this as well: he becomes a free agent in 2012. So if you trade a few good young pieces for him now and take on another contract maybe, you still run the risk of losing the guy in 2012 and then you’re fucked. What if they traded Gallo and Randolph for him and then Amar’e got hurt and the Knicks were mediocre and Paul decided to sign with Orlando in 2012.

Oops. Back to the land of suck.

It’s tempting to get a guy like Paul now and maddening to think of losing out on him. But you’ve got to play the risk/reward game and I don’t think it’s quite worth it… yet.

It’s Chris Paul we’d be trading for, and people seem to forget that. Not saying trade the whole team for him, but all we look at is what we’d give up. We’d acquire Chris Paul too.

I’m pretty sure they want to clear that up. And if Paul says he wants to go, they’ll listen to offers. I’m not saying he’ll stop playing, but they don’t need the PR nightmare of Paul dropping snide comments like “Well, as we all know, NO are keeping me hostage”-obviously not to that extent, but they’ll come out on the wrong side of it if Paul goes public and says he’d like to leave if the situation stays the way it is and the management won’t let him. I’m pretty sure they were considering trading him anyway, since they’re probably going into rebuilding mode. He has no leverage on paper, and is signed to a contract, but they know they’d be better of trading him if he really wants to leave.

Look at his percentages. He’s a mediocre three point shooter and a high percentage guy inside the arc.

You make good points, but it all depends on how much they are giving up. The team with the best point guard in the league never seems to win the championship.

Depth is important. Especially in the frontcourt. Championship teams don’t have weak links, period. If we get Paul but end up with a team with a couple of weak links, we have to strengthen those links. And if we give up our cap flexibility to get him, how do we do that? Luck?

You can call him the best player in the league, arguable or not, and you can call him the best PG too. Now, I agree he is in the conversation, definitely, but that was BEFORE a major knee injury. So he has shit to prove right now. You know what else? He took New Orleans deep in the playoffs ONCE. Conference Finals. Lost. They lost in the 1st round the next year. That’s it for his playoff experience. NO didn’t even make playoffs last season, but that’s not on Paul since he was hurt most of the season, including the 2nd half.

So slow it down. You say for us “not to fall in love with some of our potential,” and you are right, but I answer that with don’t fall in love with a PG coming off a knee injury that essentially cost him more than half a season EPSECIALLY when obtaining him will likely cost you multiple young emerging players with high ceilings.

Lets leave it to Donnie Walsh. He is showing himself to be absolutely capable in building a strong squad. And obviously we wants to add Chris Paul if we can get him for a fair price. A FAIR price. Surely we will give up some valuable pieces, but we shouldn’t have to give up ALL of them. Dude just spent the last few weeks seriously strengthening us for not only THIS year, but NEXT year too!! We owe it to our team to continue to make good decisions instead of stars in our eyes when an All-Star says he wants out of his team in NO.

Trading Felton is that easy huh…..wow.

is flexibility. And talent. until this run of FA’s is gone. (paul, melo, willams)

if we trade the farm for paul we make melo and or williams(who wouldnt be needed, but still couldnt get) almost impossible.

we would then have okafors 4 year 54 M and possible posey’s deal. Just saying we could get a shooter for felton isnt good logic at all.. what shooters? what teams need a pg that bad to trade a valued shooter? who would be the bench guys with both CP coming off huge injury.. and amare having no injury insurance.

The idea that gallo is dirk 2.0 and AR is KG is way off base.. the fact is tho that they have the ability to make this team very deep and versatile. Mismatches are a KEY part of basketball. Im all for CP3 but not if it leaves us with CP3 Amare CHandler…and no bench and no room to make future moves. Is CP3 amare chandler enough to make us challenge for a title? I wish, but its not. We would be stuck in a above avg team with no room to get better.

Go ahead, lets see the armchair GM.

Who do you give up for Chris Paul while maintaining flexbility to make a splash next summer when the FA class might be deeper than this summer?!

I’m not trying to taunt you man, but you have a lot to say about us being nuts, so put some of your ideas out there.

2 guys do NOT make a good team..don’t overestimate that. There’s not a single team that’s good with 2 guys doing all the work. Lakers, Celtics…4 players + depth.

Yea, we got trade pieces now…no one is saying don’t use them. Saying don’t use them all (as in keep Gallo, trade whatever else).

We ain’t beating anyone with 2 players and a bunch of OK people. Felton’s value isn’t gonna increase either with CP3…cuz you know…we’d have CP3?? So everyone and their mother would know we’d want to trade him, so the most they offer is a pick or a player that can’t shoot.

And Felton wouldn’t be playing much either, thus not increasing his value.

Be patient. He goes to the Magic..who cares. Let the youngins develop, maybe it won’t even matter.

Walsh is preaching cap flexibility. So going out and getting CP3 and taking on the Hornets mess is ABSOLUTELY NOT, what he’s been preaching.

Thats a pretty naive thought thinking we should just reroute the 3 guys we received from GS.

Consider how versatile all 3 are in this system. Consider how Anthony Randolph (who was set to breakout last season) can be a guy who can ignite the team with weakside blocks, and running the floor for a dunk. Consider that we now have DEPTH at Center instead of just a hole. Consider that both Turiaf & Randolph do not have long terms contracts right now. Consider that we are getting guys who can also defend, which was a serious weakness last season. Consider also that these guys can be offensive threats and on paper they mesh wonderfully with the quick-paced system Mike D’Antoni implements.

it makes it easier to follow what your reponding to.

But no one is saying they dont want CP3 the player. Its the deal that brings them.

Id be open to get paul but not for the proclaimed offer of CP3, Okie(53M 4yr) for TD, Gallo, randolph, curry chandler? If its something like that then no. Id have to keep gallo out that deal. And add 2nd rd picks to compensate.

Paul is a gamchanger no doubt..but with paul..a assisting mad man wit wheels.. along wit amare.. i dont see us challenging the likes of LA, or miami, or denver even. Shyt, not even okc at this point. Let alone the unproven miami heat, and old boston.. maybe we take these teams in a season game..but in a playoff series.. we will end up being sent home. with no money for the future to acquire guys.