Arrested Development - How the Chris Paul trade fiasco has hampered the Lakers' rebuilding process

Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant

27 months have passed since the Los Angeles Lakers had the deal done to acquire Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets (now Pelicans) in a three-team trade, sending Pau Gasol to the Houston Rockets and Lamar Odom to the Hornets. As much as has happened to the team in the past two years, CP3 going in and out still remains the missed shot at restoring ‘Showtime’ in the minds of Laker fans.

That trade on the eve of the post-lockout training camp was agreed upon, but less than an hour later, it was blocked by then NBA commissioner David Stern, whose office assumed ownership of the Hornets after they were sold to the NBA, and thus had the final say over what personnel decisions the Hornets made – even though Stern had never interceded before. An NBA spokesperson said that the trade was stopped for “basketball reasons”, but there was also an uproar among the owners of clubs in less attractive markets about the Lakers landing Paul and shedding payroll at the same time.

Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol

It is interesting to analyze situations that may have occurred had the trade gone through. Take the case of when the Lakers played the Rockets last month, for example. Both teams would have been altogether different from what they are now. The Lakers, led by Kobe and CP3, would have gone up against a Rockets team presumably led not by James Harden and Dwight Howard, but by Gasol. There are several other questions on how the alternate reality would have looked. Let’s take an in depth look and figure it out.

Would Dwight Howard have been the next player to become a Laker?

No, the next move of the Lakers would’ve been to get another power forward after trading Gasol and Odom, and the guy Los Angeles were lining up was Michael Beasley of the Minnesota Timberwolves (now with the Miami Heat). The Lakers nearly picked up Beasley at the trade deadline months later before Minnesota pulled out, but they would’ve gone after him harder without Gasol and Odom in their lineup.

Michael Beasley

Beasley was available and a logical fit as a combo forward with three-point range who could score easily on the back side of defenses double-teaming Paul or Kobe Bryant. Only 23 years old then, Beasley would’ve fallen neatly into the trade exception created by the Paul trade, probably at the cost of one first-round pick, and the Lakers would’ve tried to develop the potential that made him the second-overall pick of the 2008 draft.

The reality is that Beasley has never received an opportunity as good as what the Lakers were ready to give to him, and his career has not developed into anything special. He’s struggling for minutes with the Miami Heat this season after mediocre seasons with the Timberwolves and the Phoenix Suns.

It’s more than likely the Lakers would’ve been disappointed by Beasley in 2011-12. Then they could have bumped Metta World Peace (last played with the New York Knicks before his contract was bought out) to power forward and used Bryant at the small forward position, opening up back-court minutes for Derek Fisher (now at the Oklahoma City Thunder) and Steve Blake (now at the Golden State Warriors) alongside Paul.

Maybe a guy such as Gerald Green (now with the Phoenix Suns), who failed to make it past training camp with the Lakers, would’ve stuck and made good on some of the potential they saw in him. The Lakers did sign Josh McRoberts (now plays for Charlotte Bobcats) after trading Odom to the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, and it’s possible that McRoberts would’ve been the guy to emerge the way he has this season for the Bobcats as a versatile, sweet-shooting power forward who can cover a lot of ground on defence.

Would the Lakers have traded for Howard eventually?

Absolutely. The Lakers’ front office had no doubt that they could have landed Howard after the deal for Paul despite the fact that Andrew Bynum (now with the Indiana Pacers) didn’t emerge as an All-Star until the 2011-12 season. To get Howard, the Lakers would’ve used all the future daft-pick sweeteners they wound up handing over to the Phoenix Suns in the Steve Nash trade. They also could have forked over the other first-round pick they burned at the trade deadline to get Ramon Sessions (now at the Milwaukee Bucks).