Chris Paul hopes to have played his last game for the Hornets and has set into motion a plan to be traded by the start of the upcoming season. Paul recently signed with LeBron James’ marketing company, LRMR, which also fuels speculation that he will fight his way out of New Orleans, despite having two years left on his contract. Chris Paul’s agent, Leon Rose, is proceeding as though his client might leave New Orleans this summer, despite Monday’s scheduled meeting with top Hornets officials.
Rose continues to gauge interest from various teams that could trade for Paul in a trade, and sources in Paul’s camp confirmed that he would welcome a trade to the Magic, Trail Blazers, Mavericks or Knicks. It doesn’t seem like this standoff will be resolved quietly, and the ties with LeBron makes the general public wonder if a sequel to “The Decision” is on the horizon. As media attention has grown by leaps and bounds, the presentation to the public is that of the “modern athlete” as being selfish and narcissistic. A quick tutorial in the history of NBA athletes will unfortunately show you that history is merely doing nothing short of repeating itself.

Wilt Chamberlain is Philadelphia’s most historic native son. Chamberlain attended Overbrook High school in Philadelphia, dominating games with eye popping scores of 74, 78 and 90 points in single games. Upon graduation, Chamberlain had won Overbrook two city championships, tallied a 56–3 record and had broken the high school scoring record by scoring 2,252 points, averaging 37.4 per game. In 1959, Chamberlain made his debut as an NBA player, starting for the Philadelphia Warriors. The Warriors’ draft pick was highly unusual, as it was a territorial pick despite the fact Chamberlain had spent his college years in Kansas, which is not a region covered by Philadelphia. However, Warriors owner Eddie Gottlieb, one of the NBA’s founding fathers, argued that Chamberlain had grown up in Philadelphia and had become popular there as a high school player; and because there were no NBA teams in Kansas, he argued, the Philadelphia Warriors held his territorial rights and could draft him. The NBA would concede to Gottlieb’s request, marking the only time in NBA history that a player was made a territorial selection based on his pre-college roots. Chamberlain was as much of a local to Philly as LeBron was to Cleveland (Akron), and after losing consistently in Philadelphia for the duration of the 60’s, he would ask to be traded. Though the ‘67 Philly team did bring home the title, Chamberlain eyed greener, or warmer pastures. After that season, coach Alex Hannum wanted to be closer to his family on the West Coast; he left the Sixers to coach the Oakland Oaks in the newly founded American Basketball Association. Chamberlain then asked for a trade, and Sixers general manager Jack Ramsay traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers for Darrall Imhoff, Archie Clark and Jerry Chambers. The Chamberlain trade is regarded as the first to be acted upon in the NBA.

Never to be upstaged by Chamberlain, fellow Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is no stranger to demanding a trade. Abdul-Jabbar was a dominant force for Milwaukee, a repeated scoring champion and NBA Most Valuable Player. He led the Bucks to repeat division titles for four straight years. In 1973, Abdul-Jabbar won his third MVP Award in five years and was among the top five NBA players in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, and field goal percentage. Needless to say, the entire Milwaukee organization had been focused on Kareem, and his departure was a tragedy in Brewtown. Although Abdul-Jabbar always spoke well of Milwaukee and its fans, he said that being in the Midwest did not fit his cultural needs and requested a trade to either New York or Los Angeles in October 1974. In 1975, the Lakers would acquire Abdul-Jabbar and center Walt Wesley from the Bucks for Elmore Smith, Brian Winters, Dave Meyers, and Junior Bridgeman. That season, Jabbar averaged 27.7 points per game and leading the league in rebounding, blocked shots, and minutes played. His 1,111 defensive rebounds remains the NBA single-season record, earning his fourth MVP award.

Self centered melodramatic athletes are not a new trend. Nor does it mean that this personality trait can hamper the career of a future star. The problem we see as fans is the idolization that occurs with local sports figures, specifically in small markets. While the jilting LeBron gave Cleveland is still unparalleled even when compared to the departures of Chamberlain and Jabbar, Paul still can stay home in New Orleans. Players do not deserve to suffer through rebuilding projects during their prime, but public outcry and undisciplined complaints can quickly ruin the public image. It remains to be seen if Paul will get his wish, but my wish above all else, is that the new perception of LeBron will help Paul take a more respectable and amicable approach toward his future.

As the weekend fades away...

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