Once Chouest gets the sale done. And it’s not like as a guy with oil wells in the gulf and trying to help the cleanup he doesn’t have a few things on his plate (the leaking BP one is in no way tied to him, for the record).
The real interesting part is what is being offered for Paul. New Jersey is rumored to have gone with Devin Harris and the No. 3 pick, for example.
The Grizzlies are interested but O.J. Mayo is not on the block as part of this deal, owner Michael Heisley emphasized to the Commercial Appeal.
“Unequivocally, O.J. Mayo was not part of any discussions about a trade for Chris Paul,” Heisley said Monday night. “That is not true. Where do these people get this stuff?”
Yahoo! Sports reported on its website Monday that “The Memphis Grizzlies offered O.J. Mayo as part of a package for Paul recently, but talks went nowhere.”
Heisley acknowledged that he approached New Orleans about Paul’s availability but insisted “Mayo was not part of the package that I talked to them about.”
No Mayo? Then what exactly could Memphis offer of real value? Mike Conley is not going to cut it.
But this is what happens when teams hear a player may be on the block -- they put in lowball offers. They try to get something for nothing (or as close to it as they can). Maybe a few offers will have some value, but nothing close to a fair return for the Hornets.
Besides, the Hornets are not going to move Paul anyway.