The Los Angeles Lakers have reached an agreement in principle to acquire All-Star point guard Chris Paul in a three-team trade that will see them send Pau Gasol to the Rockets and Lamar Odom to the Hornets. We’ve all been aware of the speculation that CP3 would be headed to either New York or LA, but still, I’m sure most Lakers fans out there are sitting back tonight saying ‘daayyum’.
The Lakers are finalizing the trade with the New Orleans Hornets and Houston Rockets. Under terms of the proposed deal, the Lakers would send Gasol to the Rockets. The Hornets would receive Odom, Rockets guards Kevin Martin and Goran Dragic and forward Luis Scola, league sources said.
“It’s not finalized, but we’re close,” one front-office official involved in the negotiations said. (Via Yahoo! Sports)
After the trade is finalized there is going to be plenty of speculation on whether or not the Lakers are finished wheeling and dealing. Our guess is no, they aren’t going to be satisfied with one of the best back courts in the league. Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul are going to be a lethal combo, but Center Andrew Bynum is excellent trade bait, and there will be plenty of buzz around the possibility of the Lakers acquiring Dwight Howard for Bynum in a deal with Orlando. Thus, the Lakers could get their own ‘Big Three’, except a potentially bigger three, and much more balanced big three with a pure point man, pure center, and a half way decent shooting guard in Kobe Bryant.
This is definitely the biggest news of the post-lockout, with potentially more to come in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned…
**Update #1** – NBA owners pushing David Stern to Kill Lakers Deal for CP3
**Update #2** – David Stern Nixes Chris Paul to Lakers Deal Acting as Hornets Owner
