Chris Paul Trade: Los Angeles Clippers Let Their Leverage Slip Away

Who could blame them? The Clippers have been a laughingstock for decades. They had a chance to land the best point guard in the NBA (he's in the top three, at worst). Of course, they had to jump at that opportunity, right?

No.

Getting Chris Paul would be a huge upgrade for pretty much any team; he would have been for the Clippers, too. But look at what they gave up: Eric Gordon, the best shooting guard under 25 in the league; Al-Farouq Aminu, a very promising forward; Chris Kaman, a solid starting center.

Kaman was also the Minnesota Timberwolves unprotected first-round pick. While it will be a lottery pick, this is an overrated commodity. There are at least six teams that will be worse than Minnesota this year. Only Eric Bledsoe remains of the team's five former best trade assets.

Before the trade, they would have been a playoff team. With Chauncy Billups, Gordon, DeAndre Jordan, Caron Butler and Blake Griffin as their starting five—and with a bench of young talent—Los Angeles would have had a foundation that multiple playoff teams could have been built on.

But this is Chris Paul we're talking about, you exclaim. He'll be running the show and tossing ally-oops to Griffin and that will be sick, you yell. You are right on both counts. The Clippers are going to be a playoff team with Chris Paul. I would like to remind you, however, of the situation facing New Orleans before they finally got a trade approved.

The Hornets HAD to trade Paul. If they didn't, Paul would have left for free agency and New Orleans would have been toast. With this being the situation, all the leverage was in the Clippers' court. All the other suitors had left the dance.

The Lakers would have had to talk to a small-market team to trade all their assets to New Orleans for Pau Gasol, which only the Rockets would have considered a good idea. The Knicks had nothing to trade for him, and the Warriors are not going to part with their young core.

The Clippers were the only realistic suitor for Paul. And they gave up four of their five best assets to get a guy that they were bound to get anyway.

Picture this: Los Angeles calls David Stern's bluff. They say Gordon is too high a price (or something like that), and that they aren't budging. New Orleans is forced to confront the concept that they are either going to have to accept less or lose him for nothing.

At the trade deadline, Paul is inevitably traded to the Clippers for Kaman, Bledsoe, the unprotected number one and another future draft pick. Would New Orleans take that deal? They would have to.

The Clippers lineup becomes Paul, Gordon, Jordan, Butler and Griffin with Billups, Aminu and Mo Williams off the bench. Will they be championship caliber? Almost. They will have to increase their depth, but they won't be that far off. They will be the best team in Los Angeles, at least.