I totally agree. That's why I said that. I understand these guys make a ton of money, but I know that I don't have the physical abilities to do so. What separates great NBA players from role players/wash outs is their brain. I can't imagine the competitive drive these guys have.
With that said, if I'm Eric Gordon, I'm on a mission and I'm playing balls to the wall. I'm either demanding a trade or playing out the rest of my contract with reckless abandon. He's going to get signed as a FA elsewhere if he really wants to. He is a stud, and surprisingly the 2 is a position that will be lacking in the NBA in the future. I always figured that the 2 would be the biggest logjam of NBA positions, but with the glut of combo guards that are entering the league, a pure 2 who can light it up like he can are hard to find.
He's going to be fine, and what is he now, 22? I think he only has 2 years left on his current contract. A 24 year old elite SG is going to have no problem finding a place on any team he desires. I get why he'd be pissed about going to the Hornets, but in the long run getting out of Blake's dunk machine/hype shadow may be the best thing that has ever happened to him, financially at least.
I say all this in retrospect, personally I was kind of against the move because I really like Gordon and thought it was too much to give up for CP3. I think CP3 is the best PG in the NBA (I worry about his knee but who knows how that will play out), but I think Stern banked on the Clippers desire for relevancy and forced their hand. Had they held out, I think they could've gotten away with including Bledsoe (who I think will be at least a decent starting PG) instead of Gordon and the Minny pick. I was really hoping for Paul/Gordon/Blake/Jordan.