Chris Paul Trade Rumors: Star Point Guard Would Make Clippers Instant Contender
So, it looks like Chris Paul might be moving to Staples Center to play for an NBA title contender after all.
No, I'm not talking about CP3 joining Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. That deal's dead, practically old news in this emerging age of light-speed insights and reaction on Twitter.
Rather, I'm talking about a budding Super Team for whom that moniker seems entirely misplaced—the Clippers.
The Clippers?
Yes, the Clippers. ESPN's Marc Stein wouldn't lie to me, would he?
All those beautiful alley-oop passes that once seemed destined for Andrew Bynum's monstrous mitts now appear to be aimed for Blake Griffin instead.
Or Eric Gordon, assuming he's not the key to getting a deal done. Or DeAndre Jordan, if he doesn't end up with the Golden State Warriors.
The Clippers are in a rather unique position here—a team in a big market with contender-type talent in place, financial flexibility and tradeable assets that can be used to improve. GM Neil Olshey could potentially offer, say, Chris Kaman, Eric Bledsoe, Al-Farouq Aminu and the Minnesota Timberwolves' unprotected first-round pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, which figures to yield a top-flight prospect from an unusually deep talent pool.
Still, it seems unlikely that Hornets GM Dell Demps would negotiate with the Clips if Gordon weren't on the table. Demps would be foolish not to insist on the inclusion of the athletic 22-points per game scorer, who turns 23 on Christmas Day.
And, frankly, the Clippers would be just as foolish not to reconsider their own staunch position that Gordon is untouchable. He's a budding talent to be sure, but at 6'3" he's a bit undersized for a two-guard and, as far as longevity is concerned, he's missed 60 games in three seasons—one more than CP3 has had to sit out in six.
As for Paul, he's is a once-in-a-generation-type talent at his position who, along with Blake Griffin, would give the Clips arguably the best inside-out tandem in the The Association, one capable of reaching the playoffs year in and year out while putting fans in the seats.
Just as importantly, the sheer buzz from landing Paul would be enough to steal the spotlight from the Lakers, the Clippers' Staples Center co-tenants. Surely, Paul and Griffin would give the Lakers fits in their head-to-head meetings, adding considerable intrigue and competitive flair to what has long been a rather lopsided rivalry.
In the bigger picture, a team built around Paul and Griffin with DeAndre Jordan in the middle and Caron Butler out on the wing, would give the Oklahoma City Thunder—carried by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook—a run for their money in the Western Conference for the foreseeable future.
That in itself should be enough to convince Olshey to go full-bore after Paul, Gordon be damned. After all, the Clippers have reached the postseason just seven times in their 41-year history, four times since moving to LA in 1984.
Surely, NBA commissioner David Stern can find no "basketball reasons" to keep such a deal from going through, lest he hold up a deal to spite Donald Sterling, which wouldn't be such a bad idea in and of itself.
Ultimately, though, there's still much work to be done before any deal between the Hornets and Clippers comes to fruition. In the meantime, chaos will continue to reign supreme in the two weeks leading up to what's shaping up to be a frenetic start to the 2011-12 NBA season.
