LJ4ptplay
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The torn ligament in his right middle finger that forced Chris Paul to shut it down for the season was quietly sustained in Paul's first game back from knee surgery against Dallas on March 22.
We say quietly because Paul, so desperate to get back on the floor after the knee injury cost him 25 games and New Orleans' shot at the playoffs, kept trying to play through the finger issue until he was finally convinced that risking any further damage (to his hand or his knee) was a pointless risk with the postseason out of reach.
But the most frustrating season of Paul's career -- which began with the firing of close friend Byron Scott and was notable mostly for the Hornets' continued stripping-down of their roster to avoid paying luxury tax -- is poised to end on what looks like an undeniable high.
League sources say that the proposed sale of the Hornets from longtime owner George Shinn to minority owner Gary Chouest should now be regarded as an "inevitability," with an announcement possible as early as next week. And with Chouest in a much stronger financial position than Shinn, there is a buzz building around the franchise already that the necessary money will be spent to rebuild the team around Paul ? and hire a top-tier coach such as New Orleans native Avery Johnson.
This is bad news for rival teams that have been clinging to the hope that the emergence of Hornets rookie point guard Darren Collison would make it possible to steal Paul in an offseason trade. One source close to the situation told ESPN.com this week that to the contrary, Chouest is adamant about keeping Paul, who has tried in vain all season to convince media skeptics that he wants to stay in New Orleans.
The Hornets have said publicly that they will not address the sale or the future of coach/general manager Jeff Bower after the regular season ends, but two NBA coaching sources said this week that Bower is highly unlikely to continue on the bench and is already bracing for the end of his coaching tenure. But it's believed that Bower -- coming off a strong draft with Collison and second-round gem Marcus Thornton and after swinging the necessary trades to get the Hornets under the $69.9 million luxury-tax threshold -- will have a chance to continue in a front-office role with the team if he loses his coaching post as expected.
As recently as last week, before the prospect of a sale was revealed by the New York Post's Peter Vecsey, it was widely assumed in coaching circles that Bower would return next season as coach because Shinn would never spend the sort of money required to get into the bidding for ESPN's Johnson, whose interest in a return to his hometown has been circulating for some time.
Yet Shinn -- now in remission after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in November -- is finally ready to sell after a controversial two-decade run with a franchise that moved away from its fervent followers in Charlotte largely because of the locals' distaste for the owner.
http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-100409-10/award-winners
It looks like new Hornets' owner Gary Chouest does not want to trade Paul.
So where does this leave the Knicks with their PG needs/hopes. I still have hope for Rubio playing for the Knicks someday, but that is a longshot with the way Kahn is handling things. And he probably wouldn't be available until 2011 anyway.
So who's left? Steve Blake? Who else?