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Clippers Expected to Pursue Chris Paul Trade
According to TNT’s Chris Haynes, the Clippers are expected to pursue a trade for veteran point guard Chris Paul. While Paul was never expected to return to the Phoenix Suns for another season, this afternoon’s blockbuster deal that sent him to the Washington Wizards as part of a package for Bradley Beal has accelerated talks. Now, there’s a chance he could return to Los Angeles, where he may very well already be the greatest player in Clippers franchise history.
Paul, who just turned 38, is owed $30M each of the next two seasons, though his salary for the 2024-25 season is fully non-guaranteed. While he clearly still has something left to offer a team, he’s a shell of the player the Clippers traded to the Rockets 6 years ago. From a fit perspective, Chris does a lot of what you would want offensively alongside Paul George and Kawhi Leonard: he’ll initiate the offense & get them the ball in their spots, and he can hit threes off of kick-outs. But there’s basically no juice left there–his athleticism is completely gone, leaving him unable to get downhill and in trouble defending speedy opponents.
Of course, any Paul talks for the Clippers bring a comparison to incumbent Clippers point guard Russell Westbrook. There are a number of considerations here. One is fit: as I mentioned above, Paul is a major upgrade from Westbrook as a table-setter and floor-spacer. Fewer turnovers and more threes. But the athleticism gap is so wide (Westbrook is WAY closer to the real Russell Westbrook than CP3 is to the real Chris Paul), with Russ simply having so much more gas left in the tank to get downhill and contribute on defense, that I’m skeptical of the reality of Chris’ hypothetical fit. After all, while Russ’ turnovers and lack of shooting did cause significant issues for the team, they previously struggled with applying rim pressure and point of attack defense. Adding Paul to the lineup will exacerbate those weaknesses. There’s also durability: Paul is notoriously incapable of staying healthy, and Westbrook is a tank. On a team with injury-prone stars, Westbrook adds significant value when one or both of George and Leonard aren’t on the floor–whether that’s keeping their minutes down, or playing games without them.
But the conversation doesn’t start and stop with pure fit alongside 213. It’s also unclear if the Clippers really have much choice here. Westbrook, while aging and flawed, clearly showed a resurgance with LAC late in the season and could have played himself out of the Clippers’ price range. If you know that he’s gone in free agency, the Paul-Westbrook debate becomes pointless. I would also float, perhaps foolishly, the possibility of both: Russ embraced a 6th man role for the Lakers last year, which allowed him to be the featured option instead of attempting to play as a complement to other stars, and Chris is ancient, declining, and needs his minutes monitored anyway. Could one be talked into a bench role? And if so, what would it look like for them to share the floor at times to ensure they both got their minutes? Where would that leave guys like Bones Hyland, Norman Powell, and Terance Mann?
Lastly, there are the mechanics of a Clippers trade for Chris Paul. Fortunately, LAC is flush with expiring contracts, which seems to be Washington’s priority as former Clippers executive Michael Winger attempts a full teardown-and-rebuild. Eric Gordon seems likely to be the centerpiece of any effort, with Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, and Nico Batum all possibilities to help close the salary gap. Paul’s contract is also essentially expiring, so if the trade is as straightforward as exchanging expiring money, expect some sweetener from the Clippers–maybe this year’s 30th overall pick, or a couple of 2nds, or maybe Washington likes Brandon Boston Jr.
But the trade could also be expanded beyond just involving CP3. While the Wizards don’t have any devastating long-term money on their books with Beal gone, Landry Shamet has an extra year of guaranteed money past next season, and it’s easy to see why the Wizards would rather not deal with an underwhelming backup shooting guard standing between them and clean books in 2024. Kristaps Porzingis, who should pick up his player option for next season, looms large (literally and figuratively) as a guy the Wizards would surely like to get a return for as part of their tear-down, although the finances escalate quickly and I’m skeptical of adding any serious return assets (Terance Mann or future 1sts) for Porzingis. Lastly, there’s Kyle Kuzma, who has ended up in an awkward situation: his $13M player option for next year is well below what he’s worth, but the team that owns his bird rights is clearly disinclined to give him a big new deal this summer. Depending on what interest he has from other teams in free agency (people talk behind the scenes… him and his agent will know if anyone is planning a big $20M/year offer), maybe working out an opt-in-and-trade to the Clippers, where he knows he’ll get paid in time, is the smart play.
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