It was a three-team trade that involved Los Angeles, New Orleans, and the Houston Rockets. According to several sources, Pau Gasol would be heading to the Rockets while New Orleans receives Luis Scola, Goran Dragic, Kevin Martin, and Lamar Odom.
Paul played well last season after coming off an injury, having 18.7 points and 9.9 assists averaged per game in his career.
This is a HUGE deal as Kobe Bryant gets his first true superstar since he teamed up with Shaquille O'Neal about a decade ago. Along with that, Kobe has never played with a true point guard and Paul will provide him with that. However, LA lost two very key players in Odom and Gasol, who were a big part of their championship runs back in 2009 and 2010.
However, THEY GOT CHRIS PAUL!!!! I still can't process this because it's just so big. Chris Paul is a freaking Laker!
But now, the question is, where will the Lakers go next? Clearly, they need some help with the bigs. The best man they got is Andrew Bynum. Which is why I wouldn't be surprised if they go after Dwight Howard or sign a big man or two via free agency. Basically, the next best bet is in fact Howard...but how?
The best asset left is Bynum so they may need another team to help again to get Howard in. As I look at it, they may trade Ron Artest and Bynum with a draft pick or two to get Howard and maybe a third team to help if necessary. They could also absorb Hedo Turkoglu's contract as well.
If they can't get Howard, I can see them going after a guy like Nene during free agency maybe.
But they have some more work to do now after this trade because clearly, they need some help with the forwards.
But they took a huge step so far: they got CP3!!!
