New Face in New Orleans

For the last few years, if you would take a look at the box score of any New Orleans Hornets game, you would likely see the stat line of the Hornets' point guard look something like this: 21 points, 11 assists, and 5 rebounds.  this was obviously the stat line of Chris Paul.  After being dragted 4th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft, Paul earned Rookie of the Year honors and developed into a NBA superstar.  The last two years, Paul has been in consideration for NBA MVP and has been nearly unstoppable.

Paul was playing just as well this year, but then Paul got injured a month ago and was forced to have surgery on his left knee.  Hornets fans' collective breath stopped and their hopes for any success for the rest of the season were lost.

Then something happened.  After the All-Star Break, the box score started to read things like "24 pts, 9 asts, 4 rbs" and "18 pts, 12 asts, 13 rbs", but Chris Paul was still not in the line-up.  The Hornets were now being led by rookie point guard Darren Collison.  Collison, the 21st pick out of UCLA, has been putting up Paul-like numbers since the All-Star Break.  Which brings up two questions: "What kind of water do the point guards in New Orleans drink?" and "How talented is Chris Paul?"

Though Collison's success is a great story, I would much rather discuss the implications of his success for Paul.  In New Orleans, Paul has always been allowed to dominate the ball on the offensive end and attempt to make plays.  Paul has been such a dynamic force that it was unthinkable that anyone else could have been successful in the the same situations.  Paul was being called a "once-in-a-lifetime" talent and the best point guard under six feet tall since Isiah Thomas, but now his performances do not seem that special.

Collison is putting up very similar numbers to Paul and he is only a rookie.  Does this mean that any point guard in the league inserted in to the New Orleans lineup could do the same things Paul could?  I don't think so, but it definitely does ahve certain implications for Paul.  The assembled in New Orleans is perfect for a point guard who can manage a team and get into the lane and that is exactly what both Collison and Paul can do.

For the last three years, people have marveled at the numbers Paul has put up, especially his assist totals, but really his numbers are completely inflated.  When Mike D'Antoni was the head coach of the Suns many NBA analysts were quick to discount the accomplishments of Steve Nash, some going as far as to say he didn't deserve the two MVP awards he won.  But now that it is apparent that the same thing may be occurring in New Orleans, no one has really stepped up to say the same thing.

Paul has benefited from a game plan completely centered on maximizing his performance.  As a Hornet, Paul has had great pick-and-roll post players, as well as great spot-up shooters in Peja Stojakovic, James Posey, and Marcus Thornton.  He has been put in a system that gives him multiple opportunities on every single possession to get an assist.  Now that a new point guard has been put in this position he is thrivingi in the exact same situations that Paul was.  Leaving us to continue questioning how talented Chris Paul really is.  Is he really a superstar.  Is he expendable with the emergence of a new young point guard?  Could the Hornets even think of trading him?

In my opinion, I think they could trade Paul.  I can't even imagine what kind of return they could get for Chris Paul.  I can't think of a time a team has ever traded a true point guard in the middle of his prime in the NBA.  There is no way that the Hornets wouldn't be able to get at least another legitimate scoring option and some more young role players to assemble around Collison and West.  A starting line-up of Collison-Thornton-(Scorer obtained in trade)-West-Okafor could do some damage in a very talented Western Conference.  If the Hornets would make this move they could become a mainstay in the top five of the Western Conference instead of team that struggles to make the playoffs.