Published: January 6, 2010
They are the two premier point guards of a generation, forever linked together as consecutive picks in the 2005 NBA Draft. Deron Williams and Chris Paul have shared several parallels throughout impressive, yet to be completed careers.
Both carry the weight of entire cities on their shoulders, both participated on the 2008 gold medal winning Olympic team, both have incredible handle and are viewed as disciplined yet jaw dropping entertainers. They both saw early success and made postseason achievement look easy. In just his second season, Williams took his Jazz to the Western Conference Finals where they lost in five to San Antonio. The next season Paul put New Orleans on his back to the Western Conference Semi-Finals where they nearly defeated Duncan’s Spurs in seven games.
Now just two short seasons later, with largely the same or equally talented personnel as those aforementioned championship contending squads, both teams are struggling. Williams and Paul are fine, but the teams that were sculpted around their quick hands and speedy legs are starting to crumble. As they enter the next phase of their possible hall of fame careers, both Williams and Paul are now unhappy, untouchable pieces for financially strapped organizations.
Over the past month we’ve heard off the wall rumors that were egregiously unbelievable, but thanks to the tranquilly dire economic state that blankets the NBA, pausing to pay attention was a necessity. Moving Chris Paul to shed salary, putting the entire Jazz organization (except Williams) on the trading block. The former is insane while the latter might make more sense but will still be seen as extremely disheartening to basketball fans in Salt Lake City.
They already traded promising rookie point guard Eric Maynor to Oklahoma City for, as Henry Abbot put it, a deck chair and a plate of cheese fries. New Orleans countered by trying to move Devin Brown (their fourth leading scorer) who is scheduled to make $1.1 million dollars this season before his contract comes off the books. After the deal ended up falling through, Brown responded by dropping 30 points in a win against Utah on Jan. 4.
It is now painfully evident that the Jazz and the Hornets are not in it to win it, but instead in it to save as much money as possible. Not that this is a blameworthy excuse as nobody in their right mind enjoys losing millions of dollars, but the expense it’s taking by putting a losing product on the floor could prove to be just as costly. Utah’s attendance is currently 6th in the league. They’re two games above .500, have defeated the Spurs three times as well as the Lakers and the Magic. While they probably aren’t championship contenders this season, to give up on the year would strain a fan and organization relationship even further.
New Orleans is 25th in the league in attendance. They stand at 16-16, playing with no consistency to speak of and will likely miss the post-season, yet it’s Utah who is in serious talks today about selling off everybody on the roster.
With several up and coming point guards ready and willing to take the crown off of Paul and Willliams’ head, the business related tragedy that their respective organizations are staring at could seriously effect the rest of their careers in a ghastly way. Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Tyreke Evans and Russell Westbrook to name a few, are all extremely young, talented and find themselves in extremely accommodating situations heading forward. It’s a similar situation to what Paul and Williams underwent in their first few seasons and while the four of them aren’t quite at that elite level just yet, thanks to the league’s fiscal predicament Paul and Williams could find themselves overshadowed sooner than later. Both players are under contract until the 2011-12 season and both have player options for the following year.
If things aren’t looking better by then, expect these two to seek more competitive pastures.
Two great legacies and a rejuvenated rivalry depend on it.
One Comment on "A Rivalry Put On Hold"
NBA Player Updates, Trade Rumors, and News | Empty the Bench on Mon, 11th Jan 2010 8:11 am
[...] shake things up. – D-League Digest – Checking in with the head of the NBA D-League class. – Hoops Addict – Deron Williams and Chris Paul’s rivalry has been put on hold. – Basketball.org [...]