According to a source with knowledge of his plan, Chris Paul has requested that the Hornets trade him to the Knicks, Magic or Lakers before the season begins.
"He wants out," the source told Ken Berger of CBS Sports. "He wants to play with another superstar. He wants to follow LeBron's model of teaming up with other great players."
NBA sources say that members of Paul's camp told them recently, "He's not going to start the season in New Orleans."
The Hornets will try to persuade Paul to remain based on the team's new direction.
"Paul won't go public with his trade request -- if he did, he'd be subject to a fine under NBA rules -- but those with knowledge of his plans believe his desire to pair up with another superstar (or two) has gained too much momentum to stop," writes Berger.
The Knicks are preparing to make an attractive offer to acquire a superstar talent via trade.
"According to sources familiar with the Knicks' strategy," writes Berger, "part of the reason for orchestrating the sign-and-trade for David Lee -- which yielded young talents Anthony Randolph and Kelenna Azubuike from Golden State -- was to stock the roster with attractive assets that could be used to acquire such marquee players if the opportunities presented themselves."
