Even though his contract is worse and longer, I would rather have Okafor in a package with CP3 than Posey. The more big bodies we have, the better chance we have at beating the Lakers. A Yao-Miller-Okafor trio can easily beat a Gasol-Bynum-Odom trio. DD©
We have to make sacrifices to pick up an All-Star. Having an extra big would be an inconvenience, but a small one, really. It's better than bringing a big star over and needing a couple of years to surround him with players. Besides, we'd probably send back bigs in the deal. Okafor will probably come if we get Chris Paul. DDD
I agree that the Pacers probably won't want Okafor since they are rebuilding. They'd want Brooks, and could provide a young big in Hibbert and a prospect in Paul George to NO in exchange for Brooks. Rockets would probably have to take Okafor. He's owed another 44 million. I think Rox are gonna have to give Ariza, Battier and Jeffries to make the money match and some mix of young talent and picks. I think we might even have to take on James Posey. Like you say, we're talking about Chris Paul. And half the league will be bidding.
As monstrous as Okafor's contract is, I bet the Rockets would happily eat it to pick up Chris Paul. Reportedly, they were ready to accept Brand's contract to get the # 2 pick from Philadelphia.
I wonder how much motivation Okafor would have to play well in his home town (he is from Bellaire or something right?)
Okafor isn't exactly 7'0....so it's not like they're giving up a giant and getting back midgets....it's only for one season, a throw-a-away season, so i dont see why they wouldnt want to play with hayes or hill. They can just get a center in the offseason or draft. I think you're overthinking the PF/C rotation for Houston...it doesnt matter if we bring in Okafor because he plays both positions, therefore he's very flexible, as is Miller as well....you're already giving up hill, possibly DA,jefferies, and hayes (as the other thread suggested), that leaves 4 vets for 2 spots, which is perfect. PP is the odd-man out, but he wasnt going to get a lot of PT this year anyway. Even if we keep one of those guys and it's 6 player for two spots it's fine, since Yao won't play a lot early on.
As many have already pointed out, the whole point for N.O. in trading Paul is to get rid of bad deals. If you think that because of the lockout, two-year deals aren't as bad as they ordinarily would be, then N.O.'s only bad deal left is Okafor's. So, if they move Paul, then they'll really want to move Okafor too. So, any scenario that lands Paul with the Rockets has to also address where Okafor goes. If N.O. is moving Paul just so they can dump salary, then I don't see any offer on the table beating Charlotte's (as soon as Dampier and his giant, mostly non-guaranteed, deal gets eligible to be traded---Mid September, I think.) Diaw-Mohammed-Dampier for Paul-Posey-Okafor saves N.O. 4M immediately, and another 13M(?!) if Dampier's entire deal is non-guaranteed, and therefore immediately waivable. Charlotte doesn't have a lot of young talent they'd be willing to part with, and their 2011 #1 already belongs to another team, but if N.O.'s only goal was to dump salary, tank, and start over, this'd be the way to do it. Maybe add Augustin or some other player not named Gerald Wallace that N.O. fell in like with. Probably not doing any trade though until season ticket packages are all sold in N.O. for this season... Y'all have already gone into great detail about who the Rockets would have to give up to accommodate Paul-Okafor-(Posey). Just wanted to add a few things. Taking on Okafor is not a huge sticking point for me, if you're really worried that Yao will break down again this year. In fact, if Okafor shows up and plays hard (yeah, that's a giant "if"), I might be fine with letting Yao walk after this year. Why? Paying 17.7 M for only 25 minutes/night of good production is insane. Who knows what the new CBA will bring, but wouldn't the Rockets get a giant trade exception next year if Yao walks, a la what happened with Minnesota/Utah and Al Jefferson? If N.O. wants to deal with the Rockets, they'll probably demand Patterson too. Can't see N.O. wanting Ariza, if their primary goal is to get rid of multi-year deals. I like Ariza, but he's definitely a third-option type of player. If N.O. takes back any 3-year+ deal, it'll be for someone management can sell as the face of the franchise, a playmaker. I think Brooks would fit in very well with Collison; again, as a small-ball 3-launcher, like he played with Lowry last year. I question the statement that the Brooks/Lowry tandem is in any way equivalent to Paul. As I see it, adding Paul would be a bigger upgrade than swapping Ariza for Igoudala, or perhaps even Anthony. (Not that I'd mind if Carmelo decided he wanted to be a Rocket.) Ariza's numbers, once Martin showed up, are close to Igoudala's. Not better, but not worth an additional 6M and the hope that Iggy will remember how to play 2008 defense again. Adding Paul makes you an instant favorite for at least the #2 in the West, and perhaps a good chance at a ring. The risk you take for that chance is that he leaves after two years, or that his knee degeneration progresses more rapidly than normal. I'm fine with that tradeoff, even with a guy who has the sheer sack to claim he "has a list of teams he'll be traded to" with 2 years remaining on his deal.
