Just finished posting this question to Jonathan Feigen on his Chron.com article about the Rockets draft.... Hey Jonathan, Hearing lots of rumors surrounding CP3 to Orlando for Nelson and Carter. Also heard the sticking point is finding a team to dump Okafor's contract on. Any reason why Houston couldn't offer a better deal and possibly take Okafor as well? He could be the backup to Yao we need to fill minutes and give us the elite PG that could propel us over the top. I know the combined salaries are problematic but....any way to get this done? I feel we have much more to offer NOLA than Orlando does. -------------------------------------------------------------- (As burdensome as Okafor's contract is, the Rockets would do that in a heartbeat. The problem with the Paul rumors is that they are either false or an indication that it will take much, much more to get him. If the Hornets were willing to trade Paul, they could get offers as quickly as LeBron James will next week. -- Jonathan) ===================================== Besides the obvious...(matching salary) why wouldn't a deal to NOLA be possible and a good fit for both of us? We might just be the only team that could use someone like Okafor even with his crappy contract and we certainly have enough of the right kind of pieces to intrigue NOLA. (draft picks, young cheap talent)
Here's a potential deal where the salaries would work. Paul and Okafor ($26.4 M) for Martin, Battier or Ariza or (hopefully) Jeffries, Aaron Brooks, and Jordan Hill ($22-23 M) Would you do that? Would they do that? One problem is that both Paul and Okafor make a lot of money. Each makes more than anybody else on the Rockets not named Yao. So you're going to have to give up 4 or 5 guys just to make the salaries work, and they're going to be scrubs.
I see that CP is listed as a Base Year Compensation player. Will he lose that status sometime in the summer? If not, this would make trades more difficult for any team without substantial room.
Battier 7.35 Jeffries 6.88 Hill 2.67 Anderson 2.50 Brooks 2.02 Total 21.42 for Paul 14.94 Okafor 11.54 Total 26.48 Thats within 125%, throw in Chuck Hayes salary, cash, and draft picks if necessary. Two young assets, and expiring contracts, which is more than Orlando is offering. 10-11 Rotation C Yao/Okafor PF Scola/Patterson SF Ariza/Budinger SG Martin/Taylor PG Paul/Lowry
^ While I'm a little concerned with Paul's health, I'd put the NOLA GM on my fruit of the month list if he agrees to that.
