The biggest if in NBA history: If Chris Paul had gone to the Lakers

One of the greatest point guards of the contemporary era, Chris Paul, who has achieved a lot of career but lacks a championship ring, chose the Los Angeles Clippers as the last stop of his career. After playing this season, he will retire and return to his family. He chose the Clippers because he doesn't want to stay away from his family living in Los Angeles anymore. This is Paul's 21st season, and his great career will also end in his Clippers' jersey.

And he retired because he finished playing this season. If the Clippers cannot win this season, he will be destined to retire without a championship ring. Although he once said that he has been relatively calm about the championship in recent years, seeing this league's first point guard who has been fighting for more than 20 seasons, he can only end his player career in vain. It makes people sigh at the cruelty and reality of the NBA.

Therefore, when looking back at Paul's career, many people will sigh at the same time that in the summer of 2011, Paul, who was once the first point guard in the league, had the opportunity to cooperate with Kobe, who had not suffered a serious injury at that time, and there was still a lot of oil in the fuel tank. At that time, the Lakers launched a deal to bring Paul from the Hornets, and the two sides had reached an agreement on the transaction content. The two strongest defenders at the time joined hands, and the Lakers' golden backcourt was about to take shape.

But unfortunately, the then NBA president Stern used the somewhat illusory rhetoric of "basketball reasons", which means that the league rejected this deal and also allowed the cooperation between the two great players to be seen from parallel time and space. Until today, people are talking about whether Paul would have won the championship ring with Kobe, and it would not be possible that he would have ended his career with regrets.

But to be fair, is it really that easy? If the two of them work together, they will definitely win the championship? Many people even swear that if the teaming was successful at that time, the champion would have won more than one, two or three.

Personally, I do have the chance to win the championship, which is a little higher than in reality, but it is not so natural, and the claim that I can win the plural championship makes me even more suspicious. Let me take a look at this transaction case that is hailed as the "most pity" in history.

Transaction content:

Paul came to the Lakers from the Hornets, Paul Gasol was traded to the Rockets, and the Hornets won Odom, Scola, Dragic, Kevin Martin and the first-round draft pick

From this transaction, we can see that although the Lakers can get Paul, they will also lose Kobe's most capable assistant in the past few years, later Hall of Fame player Gasol, and also set off on the bench and will also lose Odom, a player who was very useful when he dominated the second consecutive game.

Many people will ignore that although the Lakers season just ended, although they failed to challenge three consecutive games and were swept out 4-0 by the Dallas Mavericks who later won the championship in the second round, Gasol just played the best season of his career. He was not old and just turned 31 years old. At that time, he was definitely a first-class player.

, while Odom was ignored by more people. Odom also played his best season in his career and won the highest honor of "The Sixth Man of the Year". Later, although Odom was traded to Dallas and never recovered, it was because the trade was not informed by the Lakers and the blow was too big. If he continues to stay in the Lakers, he can continue to maintain a reasonable judgment of his skills.

Although the Lakers failed in a row that season and only played in the second round, they actually scored 57 wins that year, just like winning the championship the previous year. They just happened to encounter the Dallas formation that was soaring in the playoffs that year. If the Spurs were to play the Mavericks at that time and the Lakers played the Thunder, perhaps the result is still unknown.

The Lakers' improvement after getting Paul:

Paul was definitely the best point guard at that time, and it was far better than coming to the Lakers next year, but Nash, who had already passed his peak and was much older. Paul played one of the best seasons of his career in the following season, selected as the first team of the year and defense, and the league interception king. Therefore, the arrival of CP3 can also enhance the Lakers' offensive and defensive capabilities in the backcourt. Although Kobe was 33 years old at the time, he was still the top skill in the league. He can play singles, low posts, and also launch an offense in the elbow area. In addition to being able to organize the offense through needles, Paul can also score with pick-and-roll cooperation.

Although Gasol was gone, don't forget that Bynum is still in the penalty area. He has excellent rebounding and defensive ability. He can get more opportunities to score in the penalty area by cooperating with CP3. Bynum was at his peak at that time, even better than when the Lakers won the championship. In the following season, he became a member of the second team of the year. Paul's arrival could give him more room.

More importantly, if CP3 comes to this team, it will greatly reduce Kobe's pressure. It is reasonable to speculate that it will avoid the serious Achilles tendon injury that ruined Kobe's career. The Lakers can have more time to pursue the championship, and even Kobe's career can be extended.

In reality, the Lakers, without CP3, lost to the Thunder the next year. The rising Thunder that year would be a level that even the teams who want to dominate the West District could not avoid. At that time, the Thunder had the Thunder three young masters.

, not only the Thunder, but also the Spurs that dominated the West for two consecutive years. Don’t forget that the Spurs also have Leonard, the superstar who is about to emerge. If Kobe accepts the personal hospitality of this supernova and his scoring ability is hindered, it is hard to say whether he can get a advantage without a right-hand assistant like Gasol and Odom in order to get CP3.

Of course, the Lakers are definitely not without a chance. It is correct to get the CP3 combat power to improve, but to directly generalize the Spurs and the Thunder at that time, I would say this more conservatively..

rushing out of the West still has to face the Heat:

rushing out of the West, the only representative of the Eastern Conference in those years was the Heat led by James, and the Heat have a future Hall of Fame trio, and they just lost the championship battle against the Dallas Mavericks, which makes them more focused, angry and intentionally prove their obsessions, which will be more difficult to deal with than the previous year. If CP3 joins the championship battle with the Lakers as soon as he joins, whether his combination with Kobe can compete with these three will be an interesting topic.

Comprehensive and above, if CP3 can go to the Lakers, the largest "if..." in NBA history, if it comes true, I think the Lakers will definitely have a higher chance of competing for the championship than in reality, and may also change the history of the NBA.

But if I want me to say "stable" and "at least one championship guaranteed", I personally think that I have not reached this level yet. After all, all the opponents in those years are really very strong.