Potential Free-Agent Landing Spots for Chris Paul During 2013 Offseason

Every once in a while, a true superstar hits the open market, prompting an irrational desire on the part of each team in the NBA. Such is the case with Chris Paul during the 2013 offseason.

Now that the league's best point guard is an unrestricted free agent, there are quite a few organizations out there that would love nothing more than to get their imaginary hands on him. Cap space prevents more than a handful of them from actually doing so, and in this case, it leaves us with four potential landing spots. 

Paul could most assuredly return to his old stomping grounds and throw on that red, white and blue Los Angeles Clippers uniform once more. But he could also do the unexpected and leave behind the citizens of Lob City, taking his mayoral alley-oop skills to a different locale.

If he goes down that route, the Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets are the only realistic options. 

Let's break down each of the possibilities. 

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks are the dark-horse contenders for Chris Paul's services, as it's been a while since the franchise landed a marquee free agent. Or made it to the conference finals, for that matter.  

But this is no typical offseason for the beleaguered franchise. Rather, it's a unique situation, one masterfully created by Danny Ferry, who went to work clearing up cap space as he soon as he signed on with the Hawks. 

Atlanta has only $21,513,122 committed going into the 2013 offseason, and just five players are on the roster: Al Horford, Lou Williams, John Jenkins, DeShawn Stevenson and Mike Scott. The last two don't have guaranteed contracts, so Ferry could trim the payroll to $18,483,800 if he feels the need to do so. 

That gives Atlanta an opportunity that few other teams can boast. The Hawks can legitimately pursue any two free agents of their choosing, namely CP3 and Dwight Howard. Where else could the league's best point guard get to play with the league's best center? 

Strange as it may be to admit, if Paul wants to create the next superteam and have a chance to rival the Miami Heat, his best chance to do so is by agreeing to play home games at Philips Arena. 

He, Howard and Horford would form one hell of a trio, and the role players so necessary to compete would come flowing in. 

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks wanted nothing more than to land Deron Williams during the summer of 2012, but that was an ultimately unsuccessful venture, as D-Will went on to join the Brooklyn Nets. 

Now the target is shifting to a different member of the 2005 NBA draft class. As has so often been the case, Williams and Chris Paul are doomed to be forever joined at the hip in basketball discussions. 

Mark Cuban loves him some stars—although apparently not enough to skip filming a Shark Tank episode—and he'll do everything in his power to steer the league's top floor general into a Dallas uniform. 

The problem is the closing title window. 

While CP3 and Dirk Nowitzki would certainly form an imposing duo, how much longer can Dirk play like a superstar? He's already 34 years old (turning 35 during the summer), and a decline in the near future is inevitable. And that's assuming that it hasn't already begun. 

Dallas' financial books are completely clean in 2014, though, with the exception of Jae Crowder and Jared Cunningham, both of whom have cheap team options in their contracts. That's when Dallas could lure that next superstar for the purposes of forming a new two-headed monster with Paul. 

Much as Cuban would love to think otherwise, it's tough to make a case that Dallas affords CP3 with more opportunities than he could find by staying with the Clippers. 

The lack of state income tax is nice, but it's not enough to trump the fifth year he'd be giving up on his inevitable max deal. 

Houston Rockets

Of the four main contenders for Chris Paul's services, the Rockets would have to do the most work in order to land him. But if we know Daryl Morey, there's a distinct possibility that he'd be willing to reel in CP3 for hours, days and weeks on end. Months even.

Morey loves stars more than anything else in the world, and he's stockpiled enough tradable assets that he can make a move for a second one. James Harden is already in the fold, but that's not nearly enough for the Rockets general manager. 

The bearded shooting guard is the only player on the roster making eight figures, and the Rockets already have a full 15-man lineup ready to go for the 2013-14 campaign. All in all, Houston is spending just $54,843,158 on its team. 

With the salary cap likely going to be set right in the ballpark of $60 million, the Rockets could only acquire CP3 via a sign-and-trade. But that's definitely a possibility, and the move would likely include Jeremy Lin and Thomas Robinson, among others. 

Can you imagine if this hypothetical became reality, though? 

Paul and Harden in the same backcourt is the stuff of legend. They would immediately become the league's most entertaining duo, bar none, and the offensive production would be seemingly limitless. 

Surrounded by an offensive-rebounding machine and a bevy of three-point shooters led by Chandler Parsons, Houston would immediately vault up the NBA's ladder and become a true title contender. The Rockets were just a piece away this postseason, and Paul would certainly be a major upgrade over Lin and Patrick Beverley. 

This might not be the most likely of free-agent destinations, but it's certainly the most fun to think about. 

Los Angeles Clippers

Change is exciting, while complacency can often feel boring. Which do you get more excited about: a big name changing teams, ushering in mystery and intrigue, or a star re-signing and going to work for the same old squad? 

Talk about a biased way of phrasing that question, right? You can tell how I feel about it. 

However, for the upcoming Chris Paul soap opera, stagnancy is the most realistic option. The Clippers are doing their part to appease their star point guard (see: letting Vinny Del Negro go), and there aren't many reasons for him to leave. 

Unless CP3 is blown away by something that one of the other two leading contenders—Atlanta and Houston—says to him, he has everything he needs in the Staples Center. Well, assuming the Clippers hire a coach who's even remotely competent when it comes to drawing up plays. 

The biggest factor working against LAC during the 2012-13 campaign didn't have to do with the personnel on the court. It was the team's inability to do anything in crunch time except hand the ball to Paul and hope for the best. 

Paul is an incredible basketball player and one-on-one option, but no player can thrive in that situation. One-on-one is tough enough, but one-on-five? Yikes. 

If the Clippers offense had direction, the sky would be the limit. Eric Bledsoe, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan are all developing, after all, and a healthy season from a few backups could make the difference. 

There aren't chemistry issues in the Staples Center, at least when this team plays. The rumors claiming otherwise were unfounded and quickly shot down by the players involved. 

L.A. can also offer Paul more money thanks to the potential fifth year on a max deal. 

All the pieces line up for a return to to Hollywood. It's just a matter of putting them together and weighing the other options first.