Chris Bosh for Chris Paul? Not likely, but still fun to ruminate about

Would either the Miami Heat or New Orleans Hornets be interested in a straight up swap of super stars Chris Bosh for Chris Paul, plus the obligatory draft picks?

I don't think for a second the Hornets have any intentions of going after Chris Bosh, but would they change their mind if they realized that Chris Paul had no longer had his heart set on remaining in New Orleans.

As fans, we all think these super stars are robots, but if their hearts aren't in it 100%, then it's really in the franchise best interest in get back the best talent possible instead of a body going at it 90%. We all criticize LeBron for his sub par game 5 performance, but who knows what was going on in the locker room that day before the game? So rather than getting the game 5 Lebron version of Chris Paul for the next 164 regular season games plus zero playoff appearances, why not get something back before he bolts?



Chris Bosh is only 26 and is signed through 2014. You're basically trading one disgruntled star for another, so it seems like there are few reasons if any for the Hornets to be interested. Bosh would be livid if they sent him to the Hornets. They would have to send him to a third team, and that would be another blog post all together.

However, in my fantasy world, say the two franchises had motives to get this done, would the Miami Heat be that much better with Paul or with Bosh?

First of all, both franchises would need to wait until Dec. 15 to pull of this deal because the NBA prevents teams from trading their free agents signed during the off-season until Dec. 15.

So the dynamic of the Heat changes completely. Their weakest position is probably the point guard with its lack of depth, but with Chris Paul, the 1 position becomes their strength. However, what they gain in Paul they lose in Bosh and the power forward position. Haslem would be promoted to the starting lineup and be expected to log 30-35 minutes a night. Juwan "a nugget" Howard and Jamal Magliore would have to share the remaining 13-18 minutes backing up Haslem. So the question is, are the Heat better with Bosh/Haslem and Chalmers/Arroyo or Haslem/Howard and Paul/Chalmers.

It seems like the Heat would gain more with Paul in the lineup instead of Bosh because it allows the Heat to go small ball with Paul/Wade/Miller/LeBron/Haslem in times when it benefits them. As it stands with Bosh, the Heat are going to find it tough to get quality minutes for Haslem at the 4 because Bosh will probably with 35 minutes. Unless, Haslem can slide into the 5 and eat up minutes there while Bosh in on the court is something that I'm curious about how its going to play out.