The worst kept secret in the sports world is Alex Rodriguez’s love for blondes. The second worst is the New York Knicks’ desire to land two top level free agents next summer. Donnie Walsh has been meticulously laying out this plan from the moment he was hired as New York’s President of Basketball Operations in April 2008.

The plan seems foolproof. Acquire as many expiring contracts as possible. Dump as many of the bad contracts left over from the Isiah Thomas era. And create a promising young core. Check, check and check. That combination would not only give the Knicks the money to go out and get the superstars, but it would cause those superstars to seek out the Knicks.

Could LeBron James resist an opportunity to start over fresh in the biggest, brightest city in the world? Could Dwyane Wade ever turn down a chance to resurrect the Mecca of basketball? Would Chris Bosh scoff at the idea of assembling a super-team?

While the 2010 plan is indeed in motion, one situation has arisen to make Donnie Walsh, the Knicks and the New York fan base reconsider.

Chris Paul, the All-Star point guard for the New Orleans Hornets, believes he could be traded. When asked about his team’s financial restrictions, Paul openly told Pro Basketball News, “In this league, anything can happen. I can be dealt.”

Attaining Paul would be the same as signing a max free agent next summer. He’s one of the best all-around players in the NBA – top five overall, with the likes of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard. Last season, Chris Paul averaged 22.8 points, 11 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 2.8 steals a contest. He posted career bests, shooting 50% from the field and 87% from the foul line.

The Hornets have the fourth largest payroll in the NBA. This is a team that was believed to be a title contender just last summer. Instead, New Orleans finished as the 7th seed and was handled in the first round by the Denver Nuggets. If the contracts run their courses, the Hornets won’t be under the salary cap until 2011.

While New Orleans will definitely want to rebuild their team around the 24-year old Paul, that may not be the best option. Paul, as the best point guard in the NBA, is obviously the most appealing trading piece. But he may have to be included in a trade in order for any team – especially one planning for 2010 – to take on one of the Hornets’ bad contracts.

The situation is reminiscent of the Toronto Blue Jays’ quest to trade Roy Halladay. If a team wants Halladay, it must accept the lofty contract of either Vernon Wells or Alex Rios.

Peja Stojakovic has been riddled with injuries since arriving in New Orleans. He’s been solid when healthy, but the key phrase is ‘when healthy’. He’s owed almost $30 million over the next two seasons, something the Hornets don’t want to deal with. He would be the player most likely to be sent off.

The New York Knicks are in search of a point guard. New York was close to signing Jason Kidd earlier in the summer. They just met with Andre Miller as well. So getting Chris Paul would fill that need more than sufficiently.

If Chris Paul’s inkling is spot on, the New York Knicks have the pieces to get it done. The trade would include Paul and Stojakovic going to New York. That would be about $28 million on the books for this upcoming season.

New York would send mostly expiring contracts to equal the amount. $13.5 million will come from Larry Hughes’ contract, Darko Milicic will take $7.5 million off the payroll, and Chris Duhon is worth $6 million.

The Hornets will probably want one young player, and Wilson Chandler fits the bill. He’s owed $1.25 million next season but will become a restricted free agent in a few years. An alternative to this deal would be to replace Chandler and Milicic with Cuttino Mobley’s $9.5 million expiring contract.

Regardless, the Knicks must take on about $28 million dollars. Stojakovic’s contract won’t run out until 2011. Paul will be around through the 2012-2013 season. That addition would put New York’s payroll at $50 million, and assuming the NBA salary cap is reduced next offseason, they’ll be right around the limit.

That means the Knicks would not have a chance to sign LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh or any other max free agent in the summer of 2010. That would be the case, assuming the contracts of both Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries are not swapped for 2010 expiring contracts.

If the New York Knicks trade for Chris Paul, then the team would have little to no shot at grabbing one of the top free agents, but that doesn’t end their possibilities. With Stojakovic, Curry and Jeffries expiring in two years, $33 million dollars will be taken off the books. That would set the payroll at approximately $17 million dollars in the summer of 2011, giving the Knicks an opportunity to land some big names again.

The same three names pop up first: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Why? They all have player options for the 2010-2011 season. With all the talk of them hitting the market next summer, it’s still far from guaranteed. And in the summer of 2011, all three will definitely be unrestricted free agents, given they don’t sign contract extensions.

But popular opinion would have to be defied three times for that to happen, making that scenario rather unlikely. Aside from those three, the summer of 2011 will see a host of great unrestricted free agents.

Kobe Bryant tops the list. His contract will run out that summer as well. Paul Pierce is another prospect.

Also on the list of 2011 unrestricted free agents are Dirk Nowinski, Josh Howard, John Salmons, Richard Jefferson, Caron Butler, Jason Richardson and Michael Redd.

However, the most intriguing free agent that summer will be restricted; just about to wind down his rookie contract. Of course, I’m speaking of Kevin Durant, the 20-year old rising star for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The only downfall to this new plan is the time. In 2008, Knicks fans were promised a better team in two years. In 2009, the same will happen if the Knicks acquire Chris Paul. I, for one, was against waiting two years for Donnie Walsh to make a big move. But Paul would provide results, quieting fans like myself.

So now the question is ‘Does Donnie Walsh uproot his master plan for a year, in order to obtain a top five player in the NBA?’