For years, fans have discussed and talked about one of the biggest ‘What If’s’ in NBA history: The trade that could’ve sent Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Back in 2011, the Lakers had a deal in place to pair Kobe Bryant with Paul. However, as the franchise by owned by the league, former commissioner David Stern vetoed the move because he felt like it would hurt the competitive balance of the Association.
Fast-forward a couple of days and Paul was sent to the Los Angeles Clippers instead. There, he formed a deadly duo with Blake Griffin but they could never get to the Western Conference Finals, while the Lakers also struggled to compete and reach the ultimate stage.
Looking back, Vince Carter believes that that Paul-Kobe duo would’ve given the rest of the league plenty of nightmares, going as far as to assure that they would’ve won at least one NBA Championship together:
“Thank goodness I have certain things written down coz I don’t want to forget… If P goes there, first of all I was like, wow, how are they able to do that? That would be amazing and that would be a cheat code with Kobe and CP3 together, remember saying that. And if that were to happen, Kobe would have his sixth ring, the Lakers would add another ring to their dynasty, CP3 will definitely have a ring, and oh yeah, CP3 will probably still be playing with Los Angeles Lakers right now,” Carter said on ESPN’s The Jump.
Paul is one of the greatest point guards to ever live. His basketball IQ, playmaking skills, and backcourt defense help him improve every single team he’s been in, so yeah, it’s a shame we never got to see him teaming up with the Black Mamba.
