Chris Paul is unhappy in New Orleans. Over the past three years the Hornets have fired the coach CP3 loves and traded away his good friend Tyson Chandler. They are in complete dissaray. and based on the way the Hornets management has made their moves, who can blame CP3 for wanting to leave?

You can only take so much James.......

In light of what has been happening in Miami, CP3 is now letting it known he wants out of New Orleans. It is fair to say he was patient, and gave them plenty of opportunities to make something happen with the franchise, but it is quite clear that the Hornets failed to deliver.

Now the Hornets face the sad reality that Paul wants to be sent to a team with a future. He wants the New York Knicks, and has a short list of other teams he will play for that includes Orlando, Dallas, and Portland.

New York Knicks

Oddly enough, if the Knicks could make the play for Paul, they could have quite a turnaround season. Paul would fit well into an uptempo system with Amare Stoudemire. Young gun Danilo Galinari is like Peja on steroids, but unlike Peja, he also rebounds and plays defense a ton better.

Newly acquired Anthony Randolph could represent CP3s new alley oop partner, and that combo has thepotential to give birth to a new brand of basketball in Madison Square Garden.

Orlando Magic

CP3 could join Dwight Howard to be the best big man and little man combination in the league. Hard to see this happening though, unless the Magic can convince the Hornets to take on some more bad contracts in exchange for CP3. See: Emeka Okafur.

Who in their rightful mind woudl want Rashard Lewis or Vince Carter at this point in either of their careers? Odds are one of these guys, if not both, would be packaged into the deal to make this happen. Can’t see the Hornets allowing that to happen.

Dallas Mavericks

Look for Mark Cuban to do everything in his power to make this happen. Paul is the caliber of player Cuban needs to put around Dirk Nowitski in order to give the Mavericks a chance to make something happen in the west this season.

Can you imagine the damage CP3 could cause as a Maverick. The tutelage he would recieve from Jason Kidd, and having Kidd as a backup gives Dallas a disctinct advantage at the PG position. Kidd as areserve would create the most dangerous second unit in all the NBA.

Portland Trail Blazers

There have been murmurs of CP3 being coveted by Portland for years now. Out of all the teams on Paul’s list, the Blazers have enough desirable assets to help facilitate this trade.

Rudy Fernandez, fan favorite and oft under-used, is unhappy in Portland. The Blazers have 3 starter-caliber centers in Greg Oden, Marcus Camby, and Joel Przybilla. All three have great trade value.

They also have PG Andre Miller.

A package with Andre Miller, Przybilla, Rudy Fernandez and could very easily work in matching the numbers. Portland would also be willing to take a bad salary back like that of none other than: Emeka Okafur. Sorry, it’s just too hard not to pick on that contract.

At the end of the day, when you look at all of these teams, Portland seems to be the best fit for making CP3’s desire for immediate title contention into a reality.

Pairing  Chris Paul with Brandon Roy, Lamarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden, and Marcus Camby gives the Blazers the best squad to contend for a title. The Blazers are also the only team with enough quality assets to have the largest potential impact after a trade.

Orlando, Dallas, and New York would all have to give up too much talent to get Cp3, inevitably thinning their roster to their own detriment.

Jason Kidd made one of the better head’s up basketball plays in recent NBA history.

With 1:37 remaining in the 4th quarter, down by two points, 95-97, Jason Kidd noticed Mike Woodson standing on the court, and decided to drive into him. Kidd caught him with an elbow to make sure the referees noticed within the plane of the playing field, catching Woodson red-handed.

It is illegal for coaches to be on the floor, and as sometimes refs are lax about calling the technical foul if they are on the opposite end of the action, but it is an automatic call if the coach obstructs play on the court.

Kidd used the rules against coach Mike Woodson. (ESPN)

Tempers instantly flared up and Woodson started giving Kidd an earful, eventually needing to be restrained as coaches and players separated him from a smirking Kidd.

Naturally, a crowd of players gathered to surround the ruckus, but ultimately, and fortunately, things didn’t escalate between teams beyond that.

Coaches are notorious and reputable for being influential over their team. At times they will get heated up by a referee’s call they have a disagreement, and draw a technical foul by arguing it. The coach will do this with the intention of helping his team to get calls made evenly in most cases.

However, how many times have you seen a coach critically hurt his team by making a fundamental mistake and violating a rule, being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Here are the videos, for your enjoyment:

Jason Kidd is 36 years old. The blockbuster trade in which Dallas stole Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood while exiling Josh Howard has provided Kidd a legitimate shot to lead his team over the next 24 games for a shot at a title.

Kidd is has always possessed a knack for igniting offenses, but this current lineup possesses the best talent pool Kidd has ever been surrounded by.

That being said, I am predicting Dallas will go on a tear to finish the season, and will contend with the Lakers and Nuggets to advance to the NBA Finals.

Kidd will have Mavs fans pumping fists in the playoffs. (Credit: picapp.com)

Brendan Haywood has flourished within the Mavs’ system, and as the beneficiary of some nifty Kidd passes, helped the Mavs restrain the lengthy Los Angeles Lakers, pulling out a 101-96 victory Wednesday. Haywood was a force in the middle, finishing with 5 blocks. He is averaging 11.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, and nearly 3 blocks a game since joining the Mavs.

Once Erick Dampier returns from his freakish finger injury there will be 6 more fouls, but, a lame “Dampier-ian” game, at Dallas’ disposal to throw at the Lakers in the postseason.

The Mavs now have size and fouls they will need to pound on Gasol and Bynum. The Lakers will have to survive a beating in the paint in order to advance to the finals this year.

Kidd is playing at a level that mere mortal NBA players approaching age 37 would scoff at. He is averaging 9.8 points, 9.2 assists, and 5.2 rebounds this year. That bests the majority of point guards nearing or already in their prime. At age 36 (he turns 37 in March), Kidd ranks 5th in the league in assists. Simply mind blowing.

With a starting five of Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki, Caron Butler, Shawn Marion, and Brendan Haywood, instant offense with Jason Terry, bench depth, and Dallas already 4th in the playoff race, it’s possible the Mavericks can climb the ladder furthermore before the end of the season.

Dirk should go off with the distractions Butler will cause, and Marion will be able to pick up the scraps and hurt teams as the forgotten man on offense. And of course, Kidd will have more passing options to pick apart defenses then ever before.

Currently there is only a 1.0 game difference between Dallas and 2nd seed Denver, while only a o.5 game difference separates the Mavs from 3rd seed Utah.

Deron Wiliams recently bitched to the media how his team got weaker by trading Ronnie Brewer to Memphis for a future pick. This effectively makes Utah weaker defensively, which could cost them some crucial games down the stretch.

Denver is a great team, but when your best bench scorer is a headcase like J.R. Smith, you can never be sure what you will get on any given night.

Utah has gotten weaker, and the Nuggets have a psycho on their team, so passing these teams is realistic if Dallas gets hot.

Seeing how Kidd orchestrated the dismantling of the Lakers tonight, I can’t envision Dallas doing anything but sizzling up the rankings. Albeit unlikely, but now that Zyndrus Ilgauskas has cleared waivers, look for Mark Cuban to lead the stampede in chasing him down as well.

In this edition of NBA Lookalike Morphing we compare Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle to comedic actor Jim Carrey. This was requested by loyal PTP reader Gerald Liu. Thanks Gerald, keep ‘em coming!

Rick Carlisle’s coaching lineage spans from a championship as a player on the 1986 Celtics as a reserve to being mentored by the likes of Chuck Daly and P.J. Carlesimo. Jim Carrey’s acting career started off as a stand up comedian in Canada.

After coaching under Chucky Daly in New Jersey and Larry Bird in Indiana, Carlisle landed a head coaching job in Detroit where he led the Pistons to consecutive 50-32 seasons. He was named coach of the year in 2002.

After Detroit fired him, he returned to Indiana to assume the head coach position.

Carlisle is now patrolling the sidelines in Dallas, and his team is off to a 25-12 start. You can catch Carlisle making all sorts of faces and gestures on the sidelines when arguing calls, or displaying signs of disbelief due to the lackluster play or momentary lapse in sound judgment by his Mavericks.

It is in these moments where you can catch the behavioral likeness to his lookalike morphing counterpart, actor Jim Carrey.

Jim Carrey is a zany, eclectic actor known for his unique acting. A style of animated and sometimes contorted body and facial expressions. Carrey uses his style combined with hilarious voice manipulation to set himself apart from his acting genre constituents.

Jim Carrey made his way to Los Angeles form his native Canada in the early 80s, and after working the comedy circuit for most of the 80s, an in 1989 broke through in the sketch comedy show In Living Color. From this point on, Carrey ultimately went on to produce blockbuster comedys such as Ace Ventura, The Mask, Dumb and Dumber, and many more.

Carrey and Carlisle both spent the early parts of their respective careers paying their dues, and eventually emerged into the spotlight. Not only do they share similarity in their career path, but you have to admit, they look quite a bit alike.

Click here to see all of Protect the Paints NBA Look-ALike Morphings

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Antonio McDyess is officially a member of the San Antonio Spurs, strengthening Protect the Paint’s prediction that the Spurs are the team to beat for 2010.

McDyess (and draft choice DeJuan Blair) joins Tim Duncan and Matt Bonner to give San Antonio an incredibly strong, versatile frontcourt. Duncan does everything. He might not rap or be covered in tattoos. He’s never assaulted anyone, so his street-cred is lacking, but he’ll go down as one of the best basketball players ever.

McDyess' shooting touch can now help a contender. (credit:picapp.com)

Bonner started last season, but most likely will come off the bench for the new Spurs. His 44 percent from beyond the arc brings defenders out of the paint freeing up space for Duncan. Blair—the 37th pick in last month’s draft out of Pittsburgh—is a rebounding machine. This is a man who can protect the paint.

Which brings us to McDyess. The number two overall back from the 1995 Draft averaged 9.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game last year in 62 games with Detroit, starting out as a reserve and eventually gaining a starting position because of his steady play. He might not have the same psycho look in his eye Kurt Thomas (traded to Milwaukee) did, but immediately makes the Spurs a much better rebounding team and more physical.

Jefferson will be slashing teams apart at will. (Credit: picapp.com)

Throw in the acquisition of Richard Jefferson—excellent defender, gets out on the break, in his prime—and the Spurs add the athleticism they lacked last season.

Tony Parker and a healthy Manu Ginobili, along with Duncan, McDyess, and Michael Finley gives the team five players who at some point have been All-Stars. The Spurs head into the season with their deepest roster ever, and this is a franchise that has won four NBA titles.

PROJECTED ROTATION

STARTERS/RESERVES

Tony Parker/George Hill
Roger Mason/Manu Ginobili
Richard Jefferson/Michael Finley
Tim Duncan/DeJuan Blair
Antonio McDyess/Matt Bonner

The five reserves are better than the majority of the starting five for the rest of the league.

McDyess—who will be 35 when the season begins—might not be in his prime, but even though the Lakers added Ron Artest and the Mavs traded for Shawn Marion, it will be incredibly difficult for these two teams or anyone to get past the Spurs in 2009-10.

The combo of Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker has won three titles already, and, provided the injury bug doesn’t bite, should make for at least one more.

This past week we have seen Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva join Detroit.

Ron Artest took a pay cut and is hoping to get his first ring playing for the world champion Lakers.

Hedo Turkoglu reneged on a Portland offer, selecting the Raptors instead.

Rasheed Wallace is now alongside Kevin Garnett in Boston.

Trevor Ariza maxed out his contract value and is Houston-bound.

And Finally, Jason Kidd is staying in Dallas instead of going to New York.

The free agent signings become official today, the first day that players are allowed to ink their verbal agreements. There are more deals to come involving free agents, and it is going to be interesting to see where everyone ends up.

We here at Protect the Paint will list some of the rumors/moves involving the available free agents.

REMAINING FREE AGENTS

Lamar Odom

Odom might be hugging members of the Blazers soon. (Credit: daylife.com)

Lamar Odom doesn’t seem to be thinking repeat. Instead he and his agent want to be shown the money in the neighborhood of $10 million per season. Odom appears to be going the Trevor Ariza route, cashing in elsewhere now that he has the ring. He sacrificed his stats to win and now wants to sign with a team that could offer him a starting position and big bucks. Should have a different address in 2009-10. The Blazers are reportedly interested. Championship experience on an up and coming squad never hurts.

Andre Miller

Looks like Miller is heading to Portland. Gives the Blazers the floor general they lacked last season and gives Miller a chance to win. Good match all the way around.

Brandon Bass

Bass would make a mistake going to Detroit. (Credit: ocregister.com)

Bass could be staying in Dallas, heading to Orlando, or possibly ending up in Detroit. It makes absolutely no sense for him to sign with the Pistons. With rumors circulating of Carlos Boozer being shipped there for Rip Hamilton, and Charlie Villanueva signing a 5-year deal, he would essentially be the third option at power forward. The Magic need help up front. Orlando would be a good fit.

Antonio McDyess

McDyess could get a ring if he heads to San Antonio. (Credit: ugplay.com)

McDyess is leaning towards San Antonio in the most recent rumor involving the veteran which would provide more depth in the Spurs front court. He’s a solid shooter and depenable on the glass averaging 9.6 ppg and 9.8 rpg last year for the Pistons. The Spurs would have a solid 1-2 post punch with McDyess and Tim Duncan giving them the size to contend with the Lakers huge frontline.

Marcin Gortat

Marcin Gortat is going to get paid big bucks this summer. (Credit: mlive.com)

Most likely headed to Dallas. We’ll see how he responds to more minutes and more responsibility. This is a huge loss for Orlando who now have lost the majority of their front line not named Dwight Howard–Tony Battie via the Vince Carter deal, Hedo Turkoglu to free agency, and Gortat. The Magic better hope Ryan Anderson is as good as Pat Williams thinks he will be.

Grant Hill

Hill should go to a contender rather than a pretender. (Credit: offsideswithfletcher.com)

There are rumors of Hill heading to the the Knicks. Finally healthy, his game resurfaced playing with Phoenix. He appeared in all 82 games for the Suns last season. It’s unfortunate that he would want to make the move to New York, especially when he could most likely ink himself onto another team with better chances of winning a title. Seems like he and fellow 1994 co-ROY Jason Kidd have more in common then we thought: Take the money, not the chance for a championship ring.

Channing Frye

Frye could play minutes that matter for the Cavs. (Credit: nike.com)

Frye is very interested in signing with Cleveland. The guy has been marred with the “wrong place, wrong time” syndrome during his career. He was buried behind David Lee in New York and then behind LaMarcus Aldridge in Portland. If Cleveland loses Anderson Varajao, Frye will have an immediate chance for big minutes at power forward for the Cavs. This is a good opportunity for both sides. Frye has showed he has a lot of game and could be a late bloomer if given the chance.

Trade rumors involving Carlos Boozer, Rip Hamilton, Andre Miller, and CJ Miles are circulating throughout the league.

With substantial free agent activity about to ensue,  trades will be made by both cash-strapped teams and ones hoping to clear cap room for next summer. Historically it has been proven that teams will make trades out of desperation (i.e. Jason Kidd for Devin Harris to the Mavs). What teams are on the verge of making moves they will one day regret.

Protect the Paint will now look at some of the trade rumors floating around the league:

RUMORED TRADES

Carlos Boozer in exchange for Rip Hamilton

Boozer might be headed to Detroit for Rip Hamilton. (Credit: scorereport.com)

It is obvious Hamilton needs to be shipped elsewhere as Ben Gordon and Stuckey are the back-court of the future/now. It’s rare a guy is awarded $50 million or more to be the 6th man. It is curious though as Boozer and Charlie Villanueva essentially play the same position. By trading for Boozer, what purpose was there in signing Villanueva? With free agency rumors involving Brandon Bass, one must wonder why Joe Dumars is trying to stockpile power forwards.

Andre Miller to the Portland Trailblazers

Andre Miller: heading to Portland via sign and trade? (Credit: slamonline.com)

Miller appears to be on his way to Portland via the sign and trade. We mentioned this possibility here last week. This is a sensible move for the Blazers who lacked experience at the point especially evident in the post-season. Brandon Roy will thrive with a good decision maker running the show. Portland may trade Rudy Fernandez–rumored to be unhappy even after Hedo Turkoglu decided not to come to the team–which may be a move general manager Kevin Pritchard ends up regretting. Expect Travis Outlaw to be a part of the deal.

CJ Miles to Toronto Raptors/Boston Celtics/New Jersey Nets

CJ Miles is heating up the trade talks. (Credit: blog.tribphoto.com)

There are many teams (possibly six) rumored to be closing in on C.J. Miles. Miles is young (22), a capable shooter (46% FG in 2008-09), and has played within Jerry Sloan’s strict system. Boston, Toronto, and New Jersey could use his outside shooting, and it is a safe assumption he would thrive in a system outside of Utah, as other players have (see Mo Wiliams). New Jersey has the most talent to offer. Miles would see an increase in minutes in Toronto or New Jersey, resulting in a chance to realize his potential.

Shawn Marion to the Dallas Mavericks

Marion: Heading to Dallas, but will it do any good? (Credit: daylife.com)

This would be a sign and trade deal in which Marion comes to Big D with Jery Stackhouse heading a package of players headed north of the border. This move would give the Mavs some athleticism and a good rebounder. The nucleus of Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, and Marion with Jason Terry and the possible addition of Marcin Gortat improves the roster. Whether it places them among the upper echelon teams of the Western Conference is up for debate. This roster appears to be a work in progress.