"I think it could have been fun" - Chris Paul rues about the missed opportunity to play with Kobe Bryant back in 2011
Chris Paul reflected on the missed opportunity to play with Kobe Bryant in 2011 with the LA Lakers. Paul claimed he hated that it didn't happen. The potential Hall of Fame point guard was seemingly on his way to the Lakers, but then NBA commissioner David Stern vetoed the trade, exercising the league's ownership on the New Orleans Hornets.
Paul got traded to the LA Clippers, the Lakers' cross-town rivals, a week after the trade to the Lakers broke down. Paul reflected on the situation during an appearance on "The Pivot" podcast, saying:
"It's crazy how all that stuff went down... We thought the trade was happening, it didn't. Like I said, me and Kob, we got on the phone. Man, Kob is just special, and it's different... Me and Kob ewere just wired the same. You know what I mean? His talent was just outrageous, but when we played against each other, we was about to fight, just about every time.
"We was both on that same energy... Any All-Star game that me and him played together, I don't think we ever lost... I hate that opportunity didn't get to happen, especially at that point in my career... I think it could've been fun."
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Chris Paul would've been a great fit next to Kobe Bryant. At 32, Bryant would've been able to drift into a more off-the-ball role with a point guard of Paul's caliber next to him. That would've reduced the aging veteran star's workload and potentially saved him from incurring the injuries he did at that stage of his carer.
Paul, 26, was one of the top three point guards in the league. He would've been a solid piece to build around for the Lakers, with Bryant in the twilight of his career. The Lakers would've also had cap space and the draft capital to add more pieces to the team of potentially becoming a dynasty.
The deal not going through potentially hampered Kobe Bryant's shot at winning another chip and Chris Paul winning at least one ring by now.
Chris Paul's trade to Kobe Bryant's LA Lakers would've only benefitted the Purple and Gold
The LA Lakers were the only team benefitting from adding Chris Paul next to Kobe Bryant. The rest of the league would've struggled to compete with LA for years, shifting the power dynamic in favor of the Purple and Gold. The Lakers would've had $40 million in cap space even after the trade.
There were plenty of moving pieces in that three-team deal, also featuring the Rockets, but none that included any draft compensation from the Lakers. From a player's perspective, it raised questions about player empowerment, but from the league's perspective, it jeopardized the competition.
More than the NBA, other team owners, especially Cavaliers' Dan Gilbert and Mavericks' Mark Cuban, opposed the trade. It would've severely impacted the small market teams.
In hindsight, it was the correct decision to veto that trade from the competitor's perspective. The NBA saw five different winners after 2011 and seven between 2010 and 2019.