NBA Trade Rumors: Chris Paul to the LA Clippers Paves the Way for Dwight Howard

Could Chris Paul and Dwight Howard both be future members of the Los Angeles Clippers?

It's not as far-fetched of a scenario as some might believe.

In a league where teams need to have more than just one star to have a realistic chance of competing for a title, the Clippers have the chance to add two alongside Blake Griffin.

The team harbors an intriguing group of talent on the roster, and ESPN's Chris Broussard reported that not only would Paul be willing to sign a long-term extension with the Clippers, but also that Los Angeles is prepared to trade anyone not named Blake Griffin to acquire Howard.

Whoa.

While it's unclear if the team would go after one via trade and the other through free agency, it's obvious that the club has the assets necessary to pull the trigger on a blockbuster deal.

Both Orlando and New Orleans will be looking to rebuild the franchise if persuaded to deal its franchise icon, and the Clippers have the pieces to achieve that.

If the team re-signs restricted free agent DeAndre Jordan as expected, the club will have Eric Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu and Jordan as trade chips to dangle.

Additionally, the club also has the contracts of Chris Kaman ($12.2 million), Randy Foye ($4.25 million) and Brian Cook ($1.27 million) coming off the books after this season, and nearly $18 million in additional cap space is a lot to use in an effort to improve the club.

As promising of a future as Gordon has in this league, both Howard and Paul are once in a generation type of players, and that point cannot be overstated.

Both superstars have the ability to single-handedly shift the fortune of an entire franchise on their own, and the Clippers should be exploring any and every opportunity to build a competitor around Griffin.

Let's assume the Clippers explore a trade for Paul.

The team could offer a package headlined by Gordon, include Aminu and even throw Eric Bledsoe into the deal, and suddenly the Hornets are looking at three very young players to build around who all have serious potential to be very solid contributors.

While that likely wouldn't be the exact deal (there could be other pieces, draft picks involved), there aren't a long list of other clubs that could offer a better package in exchange for the Hornets' star.

If Paul were to then a sign long-term extension with the Clippers, the team would still have an inordinate amount of cap room available in the summer of 2012 to sign Howard as a free agent.

Howard has always long been mentioned with Los Angeles in the same breath, but typically it's when discussing a future with the Lakers, not the Clippers.

Here's what it comes down to: would Howard be intrigued by the idea of a future alongside Paul and Griffin and carve out his own path with the Clippers?

It's certainly a scenario he would have a tough time turning down, and a new "big three" of Howard, Paul and Griffin could really shake up the power of balance around the league.

Although many fans of the team are excited about what the future might bring with the youngsters already on the roster, the chance to add CP3 and have him be a potential precursor to Howard's arrival is one that just can't be passed up.

Could the Clippers soon be the talk of the town around the league?

Absolutely.