Trade demands and modern basketball
The possibility of Chris Paul forcing a trade to get off the New Orleans Hornets and onto a contending team has quickly overtaken “The Decision” as the most important topic in the National Basketball Association.
Paul met with team officials and apparently has stated he has no interest in leaving after the talk, but that could just mean he doesn’t want to get fined for publically saying anything or that he wants to give the Hornets the ability to get a good deal for him in a trade. Regardless, people have speculated that Paul’s actions are going to ruin basketball and become the catalyst for some bleak future in the NBA where contracts mean nothing.
In reality, star players have been forcing trades forever and the NBA has managed to survive. Here are some recent trade demands and how they worked out for everyone:
Baron Davis: Davis was the original star point guard to bail on the Hornets. In the post-Michael Jordan era, where most stars were pushing for autonomy in an effort to be the leader behind a successful team, Davis requested a trade to be a supporting cast member on an already successful team.
Eventually the Hornets shipped him to the Golden State Warriors, a team he went on to leave for the Los Angeles Clippers. Without Davis, the Hornets continued to struggle until they got the fourth overall pick in the NBA Draft and used it on Chris Paul.
Perhaps this says more about the Hornets than they would like, as their continued inability to hold on to star point guards shows an inability to build a team. Point guards are the type of player that cannot individually carry a team; they need a strong cast to pass the ball to. The Hornets have consistently not provided their point guards with a decent supporting cast, and it is no wonder they have to deal with the possibility of trading Paul just five years after being forced to trade Davis.
Kobe Bryant: Bryant struggled to establish himself as a successful leader on the Los Angeles Lakers after the departure of Shaquille O’Neal. In 2007, after a particularly tough first round loss to the Phoenix Suns, Bryant demanded out of L.A.
Bryant’s destination seemed to be the Chicago Bulls, but the deal never materialized. Bryant had veto power to make sure that the Bulls wouldn’t be stripped too bare in acquiring him, but Los Angeles would not give him up too lightly.
In the end, the pressure Bryant put on Lakers management was extremely effective. The worry of losing Bryant led directly to the Lakers acquiring Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies. Gasol has since been an integral part of the Lakers’ championship two-peat, so if Hornets management acts similarly, Chris Paul could be looked at as the saviour of a franchise rather than a villain.
Kevin Garnett: Garnett’s trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Boston Celtics falls in a slightly different category than the other trades in that it wasn’t considered insulting or upsetting by Timberwolves fans.
Garnett had played so hard and with such intensity for the Timberwolves that fans seemed to want him to succeed, and understood that Minnesota wasn’t the place for it. It was sort of like a couple divorcing amicably and then just being friends.
He was then shipped to the Celtics, where with Ray Allen and Paul Pierce he formed the first ‘Big Three.’ Allen and Garnett assumed supporting roles and respected Pierce as the Celtics’ main man. The move was a success for Garnett and his fans as the Celtics won the 2008 NBA Finals. As for the Timberwolves, their franchise has fallen even further down into the dregs, though with moves like hiring David Kahn it’s tough to tell if Garnett’s move is the reason behind it.
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