Fuck Melo. Fuck Wade. If we can find a way to get CP3 though, I'm all for it.
I already know I'm going to get a lot of hate for this, but I would seriously consider trading Kyrie and Love for Paul, Redick, and a pick.
Do you even realize how unstoppable a Paul-LeBron PnR would be? Paul is unselfish and sill has arguably the best vision in the game. Redick would get hella open shots next to Paul and LeBron. Not to mention the two could create even more looks for JR, as well. And those Delly-Tristan oops would be amplified with Paul throwing the lobs.
Finally, we'd actually have a guard on the perimeter who can contain dribble penetration. Even at 30, he's one of the best PG defenders in the game and personally for me it'll be such a relief to have another star besides LeBron who actually plays both ends.
Paul / Dellavedova
Redick / Shumpert
Smith / Jefferson*
LeBron / Frye
Mozgov / Tristan
We could definitely use an upgrade to RJ, especially considering he'll be a year older next season, but honestly whoever we replace him with wouldn't see many minutes in the playoffs, much less a Finals series, anyhow.
I really like that lineup. It's balanced and it allows LeBron to play his natural position at PF and reduces his load in handling the playmaking duties. The starters are all average-above average defenders and you have an absolutely elite PnR tandem between Paul and LeBron, high IQ guys from 1-4 (even JR has proven to be a pretty smart player, leading the league in the lowest TOV%), deadeye shooters from 1-3, and two shot creators in Paul and LeBron. On the bench, you have solid defense, but the main issue would be shot creation, which is why it would be a good idea to always have one of Paul or LeBron playing with that group. Finally, Paul provides another veteran presence and a coach on the floor, which would be incredibly valuable, considering how inept Lue is. I really think that team could be top 3 in the league in both offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency.
Everyone's going to cry about Paul being "on the wrong side of 30." Well, first of all, he's 30 flat. Let's not act like we'd be trading for some grizzled vet here. And I don't want to hear that CP3 is a career loser or anything preposterous like that. He's carrying the Clippers without Griffin and come playoff time, he's always raised his career averages. Are we going to just forget Paul leading the Clippers to the defeat of the Spurs in R1 last year, along with making the final shot in G7 that put them away? Yeah he hasn't been past the second round. But he's been playing in a brutal West and he's the only reason that his teams have gotten close to that far, period. His numbers speak for himself. Furthermore, he's achieved far more playoff success than Love and Kyrie did pre-LeBron, even though I don't blame them as much as most people do for that.
Paul is 6th in RPM, 6th in BPM, 5th in WS/48, 6th in PER, 10th in ORTG (and the only guys ahead of him who also boast a higher USG% are Durant and Curry), 1st in AST%, and 4th in STL%.
Does making that trade reduce our title window? Yes. But let me tell you something. Once LeBron is gone, you can kiss a championship goodbye anyways. And he's not getting any younger, as he's steadily declined since 2013. I don't believe the current group we have is good enough to win a title and since Kyrie and Love won't be able to take us anywhere post-LeBron anyways, it makes so much more sense to go all in now while LeBron is still somewhat near his prime. I don't care about how much more individual career value Kyrie or Love have compared to Paul. I care about winning a title, and I think pulling off this trade gives us a chance to actually do that. Furthermore, Paul is FAR better now than Kyrie or Love have ever been and likely ever will be, so there's a lot of value in that, despite him being older. And like I already mentioned, if Kyrie ever comes close to the level Paul is currently playing at, it won't matter because LeBron will most likely be half the player he is now by then.
