by Bethlehem Shoals & Tom Ziller

Filed under: Heat, Hornets, Knicks, Lakers, Magic, Nets, Pacers, Rockets, NBA Media Watch, NBA Transactions

Today in The Works: LeBron James and the force of evil; the logical impossibility of predicting Trevor Ariza; and some thoughtful words on Courtney Lee.

But first, why Darren Collison‘s career is only now getting started.

Unlikely Savior: For a starless trade, Wednesday’s four-team swap sure had some big names. And while Tyreke Evans and Stephen Curry were the best rookies of 2009-10, Darren Collison — the best player moved Wednesday — has probably had the greatest impact. (Brandon Jennings gets votes there, too.)

Somehow, Collison’s success made other GMs and rumor-mongers believe eternal MVP candidate Chris Paul could be available at the right price. That’s a real coup, especially for a low first-round pick. Evans knocked Kevin Martin off the pedestal and out of town in Sacramento, but Martin’s no Paul in terms of star power and what he meant to the city. Collison stepped in as an injury replacement and essentially showed observers Paul isn’t the only point guard who can run the Hornets.

That shouldn’t be a surprise — the Hornets aren’t special, far from it — but thanks to New Orleans’ remarkable lack of a credible talent pipeline before Collison, and the long string of previous crummy Paul back-ups, Collison seemed like a discovery.