Chris Paul finally gets traded – After endless rumors and one voided trade, the Hornets were finally able to trade their star point guard. Paul is headed to the Clippers in exchange for Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu and a first-round pick. While this haul doesn't give the Hornets as much on the surface as last week's voided deal with the Lakers, I think it's a better package to start the rebuilding process.
Gordon gives the Hornets a star in the making. The 23-year-old guard averaged the quietest 22.3 points in NBA history last year while playing alongside the likes of Blake Griffin, Kaman, Baron Davis and Maurice Williams. In New Orleans, Gordon will be the clear-cut No.1 scoring option. I wouldn't be surprised if he averaged over 25 ppg this year.
Kaman has been a solid, but injury-plagued player throughout his career. He'll give the Hornets a decent center and allow the under-sized Emeka Okafor to slide over to power forward, but the real value in Kaman is his expiring contract.
Aminu was selected by the Clippers with the eighth-overall pick of the 2010 draft. He had an up-and-down rookie season, but he's a versatile player who should be able to develop into a solid contributor once he's given regular playing time.
Paul's move from New Orleans to Los Angeles is more exciting ascetically than from a fantasy perspective. Watching CP3 connect with Griffin on three-quarter alley-oops on a nightly basis will be one of the most beautiful sights in the game, but his overall production isn't likely to be swayed much one way or the other. Either way, Paul will remain the top point guard in fantasy.
And, yes, this trade means the Clippers have the best basketball team in Los Angeles.
The Magic take Dwight Howard off the trade market – While this all but guarantees Howard starts the season with the Magic, this by no way means he ends the year in Orlando. As we saw with the Carmelo Anthony trade rumors last year, this type of situation won't just disappear. Like CP3, Howard is the type of player who's so dominate, his overall fantasy value shouldn't change much when/if he's traded.
LaMarcus Aldridge will visit doctors about his heart condition – Aldridge is currently sidelined with Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome, which according to WebMD is "a rare congenital heart disorder involving irregularities in the electrical system of the heart." The Blazers star big man has a checkup appointment scheduled Thursday. He missed nine games due to this condition during his rookie year, so this definitely deserves monitoring.
How snake bitten have the Blazers been this year? Hopefully Aldridge is healthy and cleared to play before the start of the season.
Cavs use amnesty clause to waive Baron Davis – After taking their sweet time with the decision, the Cavs finally made the right move and parted ways with Davis.
This is good news from a fantasy perspective as it clears a pave for rookie Kyrie Irving. While Irving doesn't project to make as much of an impact as recent rookie point guards (John Wall, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, Derrick Rose), he certainly deserves a bump in value now that we know he won't be playing in Davis's shadow all season.
I doubt Davis gets much interest in the bidding process as he passes through waivers, but teams like New York and Miami could give him a look when/if he becomes a free agent. Davis's fantasy value could see a big swing depending on where he lands. Keep an eye on the situation.