Chris Paul Traded (Finally) to the Clippers for Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-farouq Aminu and a Draft Pick
By Jason McIntyre
Chris Paul was finally traded, and he’s going to the Clippers in exchange for three players and a future draft pick. Here’s what was just swapped:
New Orleans gets:
Eric Gordon
Chris Kaman
Al-farouq Aminu
2012 1st round draft pick (Minnesota’s)
LA Clippers get:
Chris Paul
2 future 2nd round draft picks.
One would assume this automatically vaults the Clippers into the playoffs in the West, perhaps in the 4-5-6 range.
Here’s what the Clippers starting lineup might look like:
PG – Chris Paul
SG – Randy Foye/Mo Williams
SF – Caron Butler
PF – Blake Griffin
C – DeAndre Jordan
The bench is quite thin – Eric Bledsoe and Ryan Gomes lead the way. I’d assume Chauncey Billups, whom they just picked up, will be waived. Why keep three point guards?
If you’re a Hornets fan, this isn’t a terrible deal (though I would have rather had Bledsoe than Gordon). I would assume Kaman gets dealt near the trade deadline, the Hornets win about 15-20 games, and New Orleans picks up two top 15 draft picks. The key to this deal is how bad (or good) Minnesota is. If the Wolves are awful, and the Hornets are awful, New Orleans could have two of the top five picks in a really, really good draft.
The reason I’d rather have Bledsoe than Gordon? Two summers from now, it is very likely Eric Gordon will be a free agent. They could have had Bledsoe longer.
Previously: Fed Up with Chris Paul Rumors, New Orleans Coach Monty Williams Rips Bloggers and Twitter
Previously: Chris Paul is Going to the Lakers For Andrew Bynum Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom [UPDATE]
Previously: Chris Paul Trade Fallout: Which Offer Was Better – the Lakers/Rockets, or the Clippers?
Previously: The NBA Owners Are Trying to Kill the Chris Paul-to-the-Lakers Trade [UPDATE: The Owners Killed It]