Source: Knicks would deal anyone but Amar'e for Chris

By MARC BERMAN

Last Updated: 6:01 AM, July 23, 2010

Posted: 4:02 AM, July 23, 2010

Why wait until 2012 when you have a shot at him now?

According to an NBA executive familiar with Knicks team president Donnie Walsh's thinking, the Knicks are willing to include in a trade anyone other than Amar'e Stoudemire for Chris Paul, knowing how badly the superstar point guard wants to come to New York.

The Knicks will soon find out if Paul is available.

On Monday, Paul is expected to meet with new Hornets GM Dell Demps, new coach Monty Williams and president Hugh Weber in the Big Easy, according to a Hornets official.

"Amar'e won't be traded, but everyone else is available," the executive said.

Three weeks ago, the Hornets president said New Orleans will not trade Paul this summer and the Knicks and Nets backed off. There is no assurance New Orleans will acquiesce to Paul's demands.

However, Paul has a new inner circle, firing Octagon's Jeff Austin and replacing him with LeBron James' people.

Paul's new agent is Leon Rose, who is expected at the meeting. Paul signed on to LRMR two weeks ago -- the LeBron marketing firm run by James manager Maverick Carter.

The Knicks hope Rose and Carter have more success getting Paul to New York than they did LeBron.

Indeed, Rose is putting on the heat and wants to start gauging interest from teams. Reports state Paul will request a trade at the meeting if he does not like what the Hornets have to say about their rebuilding plan.

Former Hornets GM Jeff Bower is believed to have had a strained relationship with Paul. Bower reportedly had a shouting match with Weber because he felt they should accept trade offers. Bower resigned 10 days ago.

Demps is a former Knicks scout whom Isiah Thomas promoted in 2004 to director of pro personnel, and he still has friends in the Knick organization.

The Knicks are on top of Paul's wish list, but the Hornets probably would be less inclined to send their star point guard onto the Broadway stage where

he can become an even

bigger icon.

James chimed in via Twitter, writing, "Best of luck to my brother. Do what's best for You and your family."

Orlando, Dallas and the Lakers also have been mentioned on Paul's wish list, but New Orleans can deal him anywhere.

A Big Easy source

said the flak from the

Hornets' season-ticket holders was immense when reports first surfaced last month the team could trade its franchise player this summer.

Paul is not a free agent until 2012, and The Post reported he toasted to a union between himself, Stoudemire and 2011 free agent Carmelo Anthony

at Anthony's wedding in

New York.

The Knicks have assets, but are hampered by

not being able to deal

new free-agent point

guard Raymond Felton until Dec. 15.

Also, their three Golden State acquisitions can only be traded separately until Dec. 15 and can not be paired up in a trade. The biggest trade pawn of the Golden State trio is coveted Anthony Randolph.

With the Hornets in the midst of a sale, they

could have interest in the expiring contract of Eddy Curry to save money in a bigger package.

The Knicks consider Wilson Chandler expendable in a trade, but if Paul is the prize, their prized prospect Danilo Gallinari

is on the table too, the

source said.

Paul makes $15 million this season. The Knicks are $2.5M under the cap, so the trade does not have to be dollar-for-dollar.

Speculation is the Hornets would want teams to take on the lousy long-term pact of center Emaka Okafor, who has four years and $52M left. Okafor is a center the Knicks can use, but his addition negates their chances of offering Anthony the maximum.

A CBSSportsline.com report quoted a person close to Paul as saying, "He wants out. He wants to play with another superstar. He wants to follow LeBron's model of teaming up with other great players."

And ESPN.com quoted an insider as confirming the Paul toast and adding "Those [three] guys want to beat the three guys

in Miami."

Last month, Paul said, "My first choice is to be in New Orleans. I just want to make sure we're committed to winning. If we're not committed to winning and trying to get better so we can contend with the Lakers, the Celtics and all these other top teams, then I'm open to being traded."

didn't i read somewhere that since the knicks are under the salary-cap that felton can still be traded before dec.15?? if that's the case, a felton/curry/chandler should suffice.

Besides every single player on our roster has a question mark next to them.

I think it would be great to get him but like Donnie's other trades we cannot afford to gut the team for a single player. I think this is a problem the Heat will run into later in the season. It is great to have 3 stars on the floor but with no bench they will not be able to make a run. Even if they can do it for a full season, long term they will burn out and fail to become a dynasty.

In NYK's case they need to keep the supporting cast in tact while building around superstars. This is what LA did and it is the blueprint for a championship. Sure we have some nice pieces but if we blow them all on CP3 who will we have to play with him and Amare? Even if Melo eventually makes it here, we will still need a bench.

Sangfroid wrote:I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW ALL OF THE ARMCHAIR GM'S LOOK TO GUT THE TEAM ALREADY

necessary?

Sangfroid wrote:I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW ALL OF THE ARMCHAIR GM'S LOOK TO GUT THE TEAM ALREADY

they are not going to gut the team. they will get EITHER gallo or randolph, not both. that would be dumb. even garnetts deal didnt gut the celtics. jefferson was the centerpiece. in this case, either gallo OR randolph will be the centerpiece.

That is hack journalism and you guys are going to argue over a vague statement is a waste of time.

Reading crap like that makes big assumptions.

We only know what we read but this is not a statment of walshes positions. Berman also likes to make news of Walshes medical status which to me is crap. It can be a foot note at best but not a full news item I think made to degrade the mans status. Dude had neck surgery. He paints him like Franklin D. Roosevelt in a weak state goint to the Malta conference and not able to negotiate toe to toe with Uncle Joe Stalin!!!!!!

We talking about a basketball team executive not the president of the united states!

Be careful guys not to take the bait on this crap. Its not worth chewing on!

Berman should just go on vacation instead of filling up the pages with useless dribble.

Bonn1997 wrote:

nyk4ever wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:Giving up young talent to get big name stars with huge question marks would certainly be consistent with this team's mission since Cablevision took the team over.

really chris paul is a huge question mark now? the fact that cp3 came back the same season from his knee surgery tells me all i need to know about the severity of the injury and how he feels about it.

The fact that he came back and played pretty crappy tells you all you need to know?

so that's how youre judging a perennial 20pt/11assist/2.5steals 25 year old player? that he played "crappy" in a whopping 7 games after missing 2 months during the basketball season? cool. thats your prerogative, but to me that's beyond ridiculous.