CP3 ON THE TRADING BLOCK

Hoopsworld reported that following the parting of ways between the New Orleans Hornets and erstwhile General Manager Jeff Bower, all-star Chris Paul is next on the way out. Paul has openly declared his unhappiness with the Hornets and he even talked of a possible “Big 3” team-up with Denver’s Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire over at the New York Knicks camp. According to sources, Paul was the main reason behind Bower’s departure from the Hornets. Paul is demanding the Hornets for a championship-caliber team that will contend for the NBA title next season.

“(Chris) Paul has been extremely vocal about his unhappiness with where New Orleans is in terms of competing for a championship and (Jeff) Bower has done little in the eyes of ownership to defuse the situation; in fact, some say he's fanned the flames. The inability to get Paul on board was a huge issue with ownership.

“The team has begun a search for a new General Manager. There was a strong sentiment in Las Vegas yesterday that Chris Paul is now clearly on the trading block with some executives saying they expected him to be traded in the coming weeks.”