OK, so maybe one or two people out there predicted we would buy the Hornets' pick.  And any thinking person realizes that pick is now a prime candidate for inclusion in a trade.

This means that all trade predictions/rumors prior to this move are now highly suspect.  We have a highly tradeable asset that will cost us little to include in a trade, and none of us knew about it.  Probably not even KP knew it until a couple days ago, though he probably knew it was a possibility.  If you tried to make a trade work by looking at the assets we have, we now have another one.

Somebody (I forget who) predicted we would get Augustin at 13 and trade him to Detroit for somebody or other, and they would include their pick so we could get Hickson.  Won't happen, will it?  Why?  Because if we want Hickson, we'll pick him at #27.  If that trade happens, it WON'T be in the form earlier suggested.

Any trade prediction you make is subject to being thrown completely out of kilter by a prior trade, and trades will fly fast in the next 36 hours.  Save yourself the mental effort and enjoy the ride.

It's also a little silly to predict who we'll draft, since none of us have ANY CLUE as to which picks we'll have by draft time, or who will be drafting ahead of us.  It's not like we're at #4, and we only have to predict what the three teams ahead of us will do.  There are likely to be at least 3 trades involving teams currently ahead of us, which can significantly impact who is drafted.

Does KP know who he's going to draft?  Only if he's already agreed a deal that hasn't been announced.  Otherwise, he has a list of a bunch of players, somewhat ranked in order as to how much he wants them -- and with a pretty good idea of how much he is willing to give up to get them in a trade.  And he probably has a list of about 50 veteran players that he'd like to get in a trade, if he could, and what he's willing to give up to get them.

Who is willing to deal with him?  At what price?  That's going to determine which of the 5 million possibilities will occur.  Some of them will happen.  But even KP can't predict today which ones will happen.  One trade that he thinks might happen could lead to another that he didn't anticipate at all.  There could be 5-6 player trades, 3 team trades, etc.  Maybe we'll even buy another pick. 

It's fun to talk about who we'd like to get.  But to predict precise trades or draft picks right now is crazy stuff.  I said so, so it must be true. 

Therefore, here is my prediction for the next 36 hours:  KP will do at least three things I didn't anticipate.  Since I didn't anticipate the Hornets move, that will make four for this draft.  That's about par for the course, four unanticipated moves.

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Bonus thought for all you Chris Paul dreamers out there.  Which team has an owner that is committed to winning?  New Orleans or Portland.  Think he'll notice?  Or do you think he'll be told, "We needed money because we want to extend you with a max contract."