....and take on all that salary? .....when they are losing money? ....what were they thinking? Is it possible that Okafor is regarded as a better player than Chandler and has more trade value if New Orleans decides to clean house and start over? What were they thinking?
I would say it was all downhill for Chandler after the trade to the Thunder got rescinded and that was the best offer they could get like you said, with Emeka now at least they have better bargaining chips... since chandler failed that physical with the toe injury, he has come down from a career best 12 and 12 to a sub-par 7 and 7 with Charlotte.
IMO if the Hornets traded Paul they'd lose all their patronage and go bankrupt. It's too much of a PR disaster. Also Shinn's not letting go of his golden goose.
I agree. While the Hornets have traded the "Franchise PG" (Baron Davis) before, I can't see it with Paul. Davis was always injured, useless and a malcontent. Paul, on the other hand, is not nearly the cancer that Davis was.
Better question? Why'd they trade Rasual Butler for 2nd round picks? He's not spectacular, but he's a solid contributor at the SG/SF. Especially when considering the hornets depth (or lack thereof)
Okafor has been pretty solid for them so far this year. Its their lack of quality swingmen that are killing them.
I don't understand it either. I think they really miss Chandler's long active body on the inside despite this idea that Okafor is about an equal player defensively. Okafor is okay on D but I don't see his D transforming a game the way Chandler's sometimes can. Also I think it bails out West from going down low in the post and allows him to just float around and shoot that 18 footer. I think it is hurting his all around game and hurting the teams offense. Not to mention I just slows the team down and they already play too slow.
Okafor is better offensively, although that's not saying much. He's a much more consistent defender/rebounder/shot blocker.
They tried to shoot the moon and failed miserably. On paper Okafor was a superior player. And as Hollinger pointed out, they do save money for a couple of years since Chandler gets paid more per year. But yeah, those last three years on the deal sure do look ugly now. I am glad actually. New Orleans deserved nothing less. You could see a crash coming from a mile away.
Hey, if New Orleans is all for tossing out large/long-term contracts, I'll take CP3+Okafor for McGrady. Shoot, I'll toss in Brian Cook for good measure.
I think the trade was a complete mistake since the moment it happen..... Okafor has been a mistake since he was drafted with the 2nd overall pick -rocketblaze
Okafor brings much, much more than Chandler does. A frontcourt of Okafor (inside scoring) and West (outside shooting) with a killer point guard should be elite. The management probably banked on this year's team being much better than it is.
the okafor for chandler deal was the smartest deal the franchise has made in recent years. the idea was that okafor's a lot better offensively while being about on the same level as chandler defensively. another reason was that the deal will save them luxury tax money this year. this was really a great trade and it still is. it's their other moves and the whole basketball brain trust of that franchise that suck so bad.
The guy wouldn't even be a starter if not for CP. I can't stand the guy. How difficult is it to hit open layups and dunks with CP doing all the work. IMO Landry is way better then West.
Man, I think you need your head checked if you're serious. The guy is not the problem with N'awlins and is as consistent a player on both ends as you can get in the NBA.
