Consider the Lakers and Kobe Bryant’s legacy
Do you think if Chris Paul is playing for the Lakers, they would have had so much trouble luring a big free agent the last four or five summers?
Not only would the Lakers have had Paul and Bryant, but they also still could have acquired Dwight Howard as they later did anyways. A CP3/Kobe/Howard trio probably would have worked out much better than it did with just Kobe and Howard. CP3 would have been the perfect pass-first point guard to make the Lakers a contender for years to come.
What about Kobe?
His career ended terribly. One of the best players in the history of the NBA retired one year removed from the worst season in Lakers’ franchise history. He had nothing but youth around him after Howard eventually departed due to the fact that no other all-star caliber free agent would sign with the Lakers. The Lakers’ front office had move on since Kobe could no longer produce by himself.
His career would have been tremendously better and he probably would have another ring or two if David Stern didn’t decide to veto the trade where CP3 landed with the Lakers.