Hornets’ Paul requests to be traded
July 22, 2010
NEW ORLEANS (AP)—Chris Paul(notes) has requested to be traded and the New OrleansHornets have scheduled a meeting with the star guard on Monday, according to aperson familiar with the situation.
Paul will sit down with new head coach Monty Williams, new general managerDell Demps and team president Hugh Weber in New Orleans, the person told TheAssociated Press on Thursday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity becausethe team had not made plans to meet with Paul public, and because Paul has notpublicly demanded a trade.
The person also said that Paul, through his representatives, has told theHornets he would prefer to be dealt to one of only a handful of teams, includingthe New York Knicks and Orlando Magic.
Paul, 25, cannot opt out of his contract for two years. However, he said ata recent charity golf tournament that he will be unhappy playing for the Hornetsif they fail to demonstrate a commitment to winning immediately.
The only free-agency move the Hornets have made this offseason so far isresigning reserve center Aaron Gray(notes).
The Hornets also have made it clear they have no intention of trading Paul.
Weber said earlier this month, while attending a community service eventwith Paul, that there was “no question” Paul would be in a Hornets uniformwhen next season opened. As recently as Tuesday, Weber also said that anexchange of text messages gave him the impression that Paul approved of therecent hirings of Williams and Demps.
After the Hornets came within one game of advancing to the 2008 WesternConference finals, Paul agreed to a four-year, $68 million extension that wentinto effect last season includes a player’s option for the fourth year.
Since then, however, the Hornets have traded center Tyson Chandler(notes) and firedcoach Byron Scott, who both were close with Paul, all while the club’sperformance went into steady decline.
The Hornets were bounced from the first round of the 2008-09 playoffs, thenmissed the playoffs entirely last season, during which Paul missed 37 games withthree separate injuries.
Earlier this month, Paul cut ties with his basketball and marketing agentsat Octagon and joined LRMR Marketing, an agency founded by his close friend andNBA superstar LeBron James(notes).
Meanwhile, the Hornets have made several key changes since June, startingwith the hiring of Williams, a former NBA player and first-time head coach.Williams has said Paul’s presence on the Hornets’ roster was one of the mainreasons he wanted to start his head coaching career in New Orleans.
On Wednesday, New Orleans hired Demps, a first-time general manager who wasa front-office executive for the past five years at San Antonio. Demps replacedJeff Bower, who served as both coach and general manager last season after Scottwas fired.
Its game time! Sign up for Fantasy Football 10 today!