Chris Paul is a Clipper

14 Dec 2011

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That’s right — Chris Paul is officially a Clipper. From Marc Stein at ESPN.com:

“The Los Angeles Clippers have agreed to a deal in principle with the league-owned New Orleans Hornets to acquire guard Chris Paul, according to sources close to the process.

The Clippers, sources said, will send guard Eric Gordon, center Chris Kaman, forward Al-Farouq Aminu and Minnesota’s unprotected 2012 first-round pick to the Hornets for Paul.

The Clippers will also receive two future second-round picks, according to sources.”

Before we dive into more reaction and analysis, I think this is important to say.

This is the biggest move in the history of the franchise, and it can only increase the chances that Blake Griffin calls Los Angeles his home for many, many years. Like many of you, I loved watching Eric Gordon play. He’ll be missed, and things won’t be the same without Chris Kaman, one of the longest tenured Clippers ever.

But this is Chris Paul we’re talking about. Not just the game’s best point guard currently, but one of the best to ever lace them up at this point in his career. No one makes players around him better than Paul does. With him, we can see Griffin’s tremendous potential maximized.

We’ll have more soon, but if you’re a Clippers fan, allow yourself to smile for a second. You’ve spent years being tortured with bad management, bad luck, and everything else. You’ve been sold potential for years and have never seen it amount to anything.

Well, here it is. This is your moment. Enjoy it.

CanadianClippersFan

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
brad

I’m with you dj to gget greatness you got to give up value…..we got a guy who just made everyone on our roster a better more valuable player…..I’m. Definetly enjoting this moment
AlAl

We need a legitimate SG, who can defend now…something of a Quinton Ross. We got very solid bench with guys, who can easily drop 20 points, but we need another center and there aren’t many left! Now we’ll see how good of a GM we have – these will be the hardest 2 weeks in Clipper history!
- Chris McD.
  
  Dude! Just shut up and enjoy the moment! Do we Clipper fans have to be so jaded that we always want more? Are we the disgruntled dad whose son will never live up to his high school football expectations? WE F’N GOT CHRIS PAUL.
  - Laknights
    
    Sounds like a Laker fan, always want more.
Alex

I just wanna say hats off to neil oshley. He has single handedly done more probably positive things for this team in a year than any other GM in history. It has never been this exciting to be a clipper fan, and I can’t wait to see what happens
AH

Said it before, I’ll say it again:

I’m sad to see EJ go. I think we should have held the line at him but I am happy to see we got CP3. I hope NOH management continues to be dysfunctional and they don’t give Gordon a suitable extension so he can either come back to the Clips or get to go play for his hometown Pacers. Gordon is a good kid, a legit player and deserves good things.
- Chris McD.
  
  I think Gordon will be a top 10 guard one day. Really sad to see him go, but it had to be done.
bamboo mozara

Im savoring every moment of it ……right here…right now….ooooohhhhhh…..
ImissEJalready

Very nicely put. We can either sulk about the loss of my personal favorite former clipper (Eric Gordon), a solid big man that would have produced (Chris kaman), and that oh so valuable minny pick that will always leave us asking “what if?” OR we can embrace the fact that we have CHRIS PAUL. Either way…it’s finally time for clipper nation to…RISE UP.
BG 2012

Insert requisite excitement here. We have the potential for a title run if we fill in holes at backup center and shooting guard. A few trades that have been approved by the trade machine:

Bledsoe and Foye to OKC for
Cole Aldrich and Thabo Sefolosha

OKC is stacked at center with Nazr Mohammed and Kendrick Perkins in front of him and Thabo is about to see his minutes go down a lot with the growth of James Harden. Foye and Bledsoe can create their own offense off the bench. It’s a bit tilted in our favor, but you can’t know without trying.

Mo to UTA for
Mehmet Okur

Blatantly taken from Bill Simmons. Would work for both teams though, especially with Devin Harris’ underwhelming performance after being traded from the Nets last year.

Mo to ATL for
Kirk Heinrich

Neither Heinrich nor Mo are true PGs in the traditional sense, but this would be mutually beneficial considering that Mo is a much better distributor than Heinrich and Heinrich can step in at SG in a way Mo can’t.

Bledsoe and Foye to MEM for
Tony Allen and Darrell Arthur

We get a backup PF and a lockdown D SG, while sending high quality offensive bench players to MEM. Particularly with Rudy Gay coming back off an injury, the need for Tony Allen diminishes. I really think Allen would be a great addition so I’d even be willing to accept the embarrassingly awful Mikki Moore instead of Arthur.

The important thing to take away is that we need to round out our roster because we could win a championship this year. I hope the front office doesn’t think their offseason is over.
Pbrady

Sad to see EJ included in the swap, but after nixing the Lakers deal the league had to get something big. That being said, if CP3 could take last years Hornets deep imagine what he can do here. No more counting sheep when I can’t sleep, instead I’ll just count alley-oops between CP3 and Blake or DJ
Matt

Definately will miss ej…still, make this trade 100 out of 100 times! For once my optimism about the Clippers season will be founded in reality!!!
EricGordonsAnkleBrace

I think we should go after Tebow or get Beckham on loan for SG.
Average Jose

Sad to see EJ go

Ecstatic to see Kaman go

Aminu not sure

Welcome CP3!
rgc

It’s hard to be upset when acquiring a landscape changer like Chris Paul, but I’m still a bit baffled why we needed to include both Gordon and the pick. Seems like we were bidding against ourselves here. I would have pushed hard to turn Gordon into Bledsoe in terms of the deal. When you acquire a Chris Paul, you are going all in on him being your PG for the next 5-7 years making Bledsoe meaningless. Eric, if he emerges into a quality guard, will for sure bail when his rookie deal is up, as oppose to stay and play off the bench. I really hope the Hornets / NBA didn’t give us the option and we chose Bledsoe. We now have what appears to be a hole at the 2. Hopefully Billups can be productive there…
- AH
  
  Agreed. Best I can figure is that Bledsoe is flipped for something? How about Mo + Bledsoe for Afflalo + Andersen?
Go Clippers

Am I the only one who hates this trade? We had an amazing team without CP3. 2 vet PGs, EJ, Caron/Aminu, Kaman/DJ/Griff 3 headed monster

We were set.. And you break it up, with a short training camp and inexperienced coach to bring it, admittedly, the best PG of 2005-2009. he had a bad year last year, attributed to balky knees and no teammates, but still it was definitely a down year. We gave up too much. Now we need a backup C, and a 3 point specialist. Novak, need a roster spot?Why not force the NBA’s hand and only make the deal without EJ? why not include Mo’s contract? There are many if’s here. Losing EJ will hurt the most. 2 years from now, who wouldnt want a coming into his prime EJ over Paul, not to mention the minny pick in a strong draft?
- rgc
  
  yeah, i really felt for this trade make the most immediate paramount impact, we needed to keep Gordon. Obviously, Paul is a game-changer, and the possibilities of greatness are still prevalent, but we could have been much closer with Gordon still on the roster. I am going to be interested to see what / if we have anything else up our sleeves. With essentially Foye as the only natural 2 guard on the roster, and 76 PG’s, perhaps we amnesty / trade Williams, and at some point trade Bledsoe for a 2, or just stand pat and hopes Billups can coexist with Paul simultaneously in the back court.
- AH
  
  EJ is my biggest ambivalence about this trade. If Bledsoe was in and we kept EJ then I’d say it’s a slam dunk for the Clippers.
  
  I do think the Minny pick is probably going to be overrated. Based on their new young talent and Adelman as their coach I expect the pick to fall in the 7-12 range.
  - rgc
    
    i understand the pick being involved, and honestly i can care less. when you can turn a hope ( the pick ) into a all-star ( paul ), you do it. You hope an early lotto pick turns into a CP. Just wish we could have somehow kept Gordon. I think this immediately raises the stakes on Caron. He’s going to have to shoulder more of the scoring load than he did 4 hours ago….
    - Bootstrenf
      
      I don’t think Caron is going to mind…
      - rgc
        
        given his historic injury history, i liked him better as the 3rd-4th scoring option as opposed to relying on him being potentially the 2nd-3rd option
      - Bootstrenf
        
        Agree with you 100%… how the he’ll did he get the nickname, “tuff juice”?
- Clipshow
  
  I read somewhere that the clippers were working on extending ej and this happened. When we got billups, I felt we had a complete team.
  I’m sure it’ll be an exciting year, I just wish Gordon is still here when we’re gonna finally turn it around.
  - Clipshow
    
    Oops I’m not replying to anyone
- jb_baby
  
  I agree with you – LAC paid too high a price – I liked the 3 headed monster DeAndre, Blake and Caveman – Billups and Gordon with Caron – a very solid team.
Metal Matty

IMO Bledsoe can play the 2 in this league very easily. I could be wrong, but lets see how this developes. No reason he can’t be a part of some kind of three guard rotation for years to come. And yes, I know….. OBVIOUSLY the third guard would ideally posess some length. But matching sizes to build a roster is fools gold. It’s better to get players who can PLAY. That was always Dumbleavy’s flaw, constantly adjusting to the other team instead of playing talent and forcing the other team to adjust.
Adam

I would like to say that as a long time Clippers fan I am ecstatic that they landed a stud like CP3. That said, I also agree that they could have used their leverage slightly better. I really don’t know a package that they Lakers could have put together that could have competed even with the Clippers deal with Bledsoe instead of Gordon, and there was no other reasonable trade partner for the league…errr Hornets. I thought the Clippers were well positioned to start the season and try to force the league’s hand a bit, even down to the trade deadline when the league would realize that they would be getting nothing for him at the end of the season. Like John Hollinger said, with Gordon, we’re a legit Western Conference title contender, without him, we’re probably in the middle of the bracket.

The only reason I can see the Clippers FO willingly dealing Gordon is because there is absolutely no way with their current contracts that they would be able to pay him nearly as much as he can get on the open-market. Gordon is probably going to get a max from his hometown (Indiana) and the Clippers would have needed to match to have any shot at keeping him. While it would have been nice for two years, maybe there is the slightest of silver linings in letting him go now.

All in all, it will be really nice for the lobs from CP3 to Griffin to become a reality instead of just a dream.
Chris McD.

I say pick up Diogu again, even though he’s technically a 4. He can play the 5, although he is short. Guy showed a lot of hustle last year and was a good backup.
- Chris McD.
  
  Plus he should be dirt cheap. Keeps us under the cap and Mr. Moneybags Sterling happy.
  - Average Jose
    
    Troy Murphy?
    - Neiru
      
      too expensive
Renato S.

This is bittersweet.

I’m excited for having CP3, but at the same time as they said before, EJ and the pick was too much. I felt that the Clippers was better before, it was a well balanced team. Billups, Mo and Bledsoe. Gordon and Foye. Butler, Aminu and Gomes. Griffin and Cook (?). Kaman and Jordan.

I’m really hoping that keeping Bledsoe means that they have other moves to make. As everybody said, if it was Bledsoe, Aminu, Kaman and the unprotected pick, it would have been a slam dunk. The league had no leverage, why make this trade?

The Clippers have 4 PGs! Please, do something about it. I would like to see Kevin Martin, that would settle me down. The Clippers need a SG that can score or at least create his own shot, somebody has to unload Griffin in the offense. The Clippers still need a backup Center.
- Renato S.
  
  The Clippers have cap space and trade assets, please do it right.
  - Renato S.
    
    This is not a horrible trade – and I’m struggling to say this. This will only become a bad trade IF the Clippers are unable to turn the cap space and the trade assets (Mo Williams, Bledsoe) into something.
    
    The Clippers need a starting SG, preferable one that can score, create his own shot, e.g., Kevin Martin – I don’t know if Billups can be a starting SG. The Clippers still need some backup for Center position and it would be nice to have a PF backup as well.
    
    If they get these pieces, the trade won’t be so bad, if they don’t, then I really preferred the way it was, there were balance in the team.
  - Renato S.
    
    What are the SG that can score? If JR Smith wasn’t in Chine, he could be good. Monta Ellis? DeRozan? Mayo?
    
    I don’t even know their situation, I’m just saying possible SG.
    - Jgroove
      
      We don’t need a SG who is a super scorer. Paul can score 20, Blake – 20, Butler 18, Williams 14-16 off the bench. Etc. Billups can provide 15 and steady leadership. Yes, we need another big and Ike Idugo or Craig Smith won’t do it. Feel bad for Smith, but hes’ too short to give them what they need defensively. Surprised the Lakers didn’t call him.
      - Renato S.
        
        Not a super scorer but you are clearly overestimating CP3 and Butler. Together they will get around 30~35ppg. And that should be it, they play at their best in these roles. And I’m not talking about ppg, I’m talking about chemistry and balance. Take the Heat, they have all-stars, but their chemistry is not optimized.
        
        You have CP3, a general floor that can help you play better and get some easy baskets, he is not a scorer type like Rose or Westbrook and if he has to be, he will not play at his best weapons. You have Griffin, who is not a scorer, but can score because he has the skills. Butler will be the guy that will help, he can score if he has to but he can do other things. You also have DJ, a high energy guy that will do the dirt work, get some offensive rebounds, block shots, he will complement Griffin.
        
        And you need a guy to draw attention and that can create his own shot like Kevin Martin or Monta Ellis. Someone to unload the offensive duties off Griffin, just like Gordon did. Ej was the scorer of the team, he was 25+ppg before he got injured, this season EJ + BG would average 50+ppg together.
        
        It’s about balance, players that complement each other create chemistry.
Bootstrenf

All we need now is a good coach…I hear Phil Jackson is available…
griffin

I hope ej comes back after his free agency is up this year. But I trust olshey new what he was doing and ej might not wanted to sign an extension my favorite clipper is gone. I just hope leslie as raw as he is and athelitc he can absorb some good game habits from cp3 and billups and become a great sg for us
- griffin
  
  But we have a shot at the title now so oooohhhh yeah
trn921

@dj foster do you really think CP3 will stay with Clippers after 2 years??? If we had EJ and Blake sign to the extension, at least we know that Clips would lock them up for next 5 yrs. AND the Minny pick could be a true future small forward, which could give them 4 young dynamic core of the team for a half decade. A whole point of having young cores for long term is the development of chemistry for the team. Now we lost the chance for duplicating OKC model and gambled on a year or two with CP3 to beat MIA, OKC, DAL and CHI. This move only brings short term excitement and not long run solution to establish Blake ear for the organization.
- D.J. Foster
  
  If the team is winning with Blake, why wouldn’t he stay?
- gh4
  
  Exciting trade now, great trade if Clips can convince CP to stay.
  If Paul bails after two years or his knees go then not so much.
rg12

I thought we had a great TEAM yesterday. Today we have some truly great players. It’s not the same thing.
Blocklife

2 things:
Sad is an understatement of how I feel that Eric Gordon is now gone, believe it or not this started with him. But I am also ecstatic that he is gona b the SUPERSTAR of his own team (he earned/deserves that) plus he is closer to hIs hometown
#2: giv olshey his props already! It’s bcuz if him that we were in this position in the 1st place

Never been more proud to b a clipper fan, literally gettin goosebumps, this is gr8
Now I can’t wear Clippers stuff without being called a ‘Bandwagon!’

Very hard to see EJ go tonight. I figured once we picked up Billups, our lineup was solid. I loved when the first trade fell through because Minnesota’s pick could have landed us Harrison Barnes. But, now that we’re four deep at PG, who gets traded? Mo is the obvious choice, but wouldn’t Sterling use the amnesty? A SG is needed and I say Demar DeRozan or Igoudala would fit this lineup.
- griffin
  
  Haha the true clipper fans will know the true clipper fans becuz they got that special glow then the bandwagons
Steve

Did anyone else hear or read on twitter that Magic Johnson stated Clips are clear contenders to win the West this year? I have to say that I’m very bittersweet about this. I was ok giving up the pick but Gordon was a big big piece to let go of…. All I can say is tonight LA turned into a red white and blue town. And it should be that way for a while..
Average Jose

Let’s go find a tough veteran big! I hear Troy Murphy is available. Does he have anything left?
Will

I will miss EJ, He was one of my all time favorite Clippers. A real quality player and person who always brought his best..even when he wasnt 100% physically. I think he’ll get a chance to flourish for some team in this leauge, best of luck to you EJ. Thanks for everything!

As for the Clippers – This trade is great. People need to remember how lights out Foye was when EJ was out last year – he is a sutiable replacement to step into the lineup. The depth at two is forsure a concern at the moment but i’ve got faith Neil will continue to improve the team. I think we could see Mo being moved next.

@DJ/Clipper Blog Staff..Any idea if Mo for Ariza was a negotiation tactic or if there is still legs? Like Arizas defense..dont like his jumper. I know that Toronto recently could have Pietrus for a second rounder…not too bad of a price for a decent wing. Any other options open?
Old Skool Clip Fan

Yep, maybe this was a good trade, but it’s gonna take me awhile to get over the loss of Gordon. And I actually liked Kaman and Aminu, unlike a lot of you. But listening to the guys on NBATV about how this was a great trade for the Clips is making me give it some consideration. Still sad though.
Manolosandro

Mo Williams and Randy Foye and a 2nd rd pick for O.J Mayo and Darrel Arthur

PG-CP3
SG-MAYO
SF-BUTLER
PF-GRIFFIN
C-JORDAN

BENCH- Billups,Bledsoe,Gomes,Arthur
Manolosandro

GOOD DAY FOR CLIPPERS!!!!! CANT WAIT TIL OPENING NIGHT!!!!
Pez

Ej was my favorite…but if pauls knees hold together there is no way his effect on everyone–particularly dj–doesn’t make us a better team. Foye played very well last year, he and billups at the 2 is very positive–agree that we still need front court depth, and would love an athletic swing man.

Kaman was as good as gone already, I don’t think aminu will pan out, and glad we held on to bledsoe regardless of the log jam.

Best day to be a clips fan since blake showed up!
Bryan

if i knew all of you clippers fans right now i would say party at my house!!!! lets do enjoy this moment baby for now its our turn its our turn to make a statement!!!!!
Lets go clippers!!!
Keep Aminu

Well, I guess I’m going to have to find a new username….

I liked the Clipper team before the Chris Paul trade. In fact, it seemed too amazing to be true. The Clippers looking good for the long run? The Clippers deep at every position?

It seems to me—unfortunately—that Paul’s knees will go out and he’ll be Baron Davis II in two years. In the meantime, it’s probable that Gordan and Aminu will be all-star caliber and Kaman will be continuing to produce.

Add to that the realization that someone is going to have to play center when Jordan is out (and shooting guard when he’s in) and you might start to think twice about whether this was an uncharacteristic move for the organization.

Mo Williams, who embraced Clippers’ culture and cherished the idea of leadership, is displaced, and the veteran Chauncey Billups may have to play heavy minutes out of position with little well-deserved kudos of his own.

You have to be somewhat happy for all the buzz that the formerly “woebegone” Clippers are getting. The management is trying hard, and at least they re-signed DJ. I just wish the focus of the NBA wasn’t all whining superstars and blockbuster trades, create shallow teams to chase titles and win endorsements. The price of this is weak competition, loyalty, depth, and teamwork—not to mention frustrated fans.
- Clipshow
  
  Exactly the reason why I switched from the lakers to the clippers.
  - Clipshow
    
    Well they always say “it’s business”
shagger

Get Nikola Pekovic the beast!!! he is perfect off the bench, definitely a potential 15 and 7 type centre!!! He will explode given an opportunity and will co-exist with Jordan perfectly… only 5 mil
AH

For those wondering what Blake thought:

http://t.co/DiRNSO1E

He seems pretty ecstatic they got CP3, but DJ obviously moves away from the camera when he finds out EJ was in the deal and Blake doesn’t know EJ is in it yet.
griffin

Is peja still good?
Robert Lehrer

It’s hard not to get excited about the addition of CP3, but I believe that the Clips gave up too much talent for him. They may regret including EJ in the deal.

The flip side of my above opinion is that the Clippers may not have been able to sign EJ, Blake and Paul to extensions. They may have had to sacrifice one of the three players.
Juan

Since we now have a more than capable floor general in CP3 and a young back up, don’t be surprised to see the following happen:

Billups wil be granted his retirement.
Mo will be amnestied or packaged In a trade with the newly acquired 2nd rd pick.
Foye will be bench as flexible PG/SG.
Caron will see some time at SG.
Clips will go after good shooting SG….Afflalo?? Reggie Williams? Nick Young??
Clips will go after backup SF….Craig Smith??Steve Novak??
Clips will go after backup center….Ratliff??Dampier??

The interesting part is top free agents will now have to seriously consider coming to Clips. So now Vinny, Neil, and Donald have a very good team on paper. Let’s see how good they turn out to be.
Geovany

GUYS!!! ITS CP3!!!!! everyone should be excited! who ever would of taught GRIFFIN & CP3 with the CLIPPERS!!!
http://clipperblog Al

Anybody know how the two second rounders, PF Trey Thompkins and SG Travis Leslie are doing ? Thompkins was supposed to be a better version of Brian Cook? Leslie is an uber athlete that is just raw skils wise.

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