"Finally", that was what everyone who followed the Chris Paul trade saga was thinking when he was finally sent to the Clippers on Wednesday. I didn't care if he was traded to the Lakers, Clippers, or Red Claws, just as long as he was traded and we could all stop talking about it. His name had only been in trade rumors for two weeks, but it felt like every team in the league had been connected to him and the league had shot down a proposal from all of them. Incredibly six teams were affected by this, the Lakers, Clippers, Hornets, Rockets, Celtics, and Pacers. It's obvious how the Hornets and Clippers were affected, but lets look quickly at the other four. The Lakers tried to trade Lamar Odom for Paul, hurting his feelings to the point that, even though the trade fell through, they still had to send him to the highest bidder (Dallas for a TPE). The Rockets were the third team in the original Chris Paul to the Lakers trade, and missed out on getting Pau Gasol and the possibility of signing Nene, setting them back at least a few years. The Celtics missed out on Paul, upsetting Rajon Rondo, and then because of the lack of an owner in New Orleans they couldn't get a David West trade done and he signed with the Pacers. Indiana really ended up as the winner of this whole fiasco because they got David West after the Celtics trade fell apart. Six teams affected because of one dysfunctional team, ridiculous.
In reality, the NBA owns the Hornets and any trade that was to be completed would have to get approval from them. The Lakers appeared to have netted Chris Paul last week in a three team trade with the Rockets (for a full breakdown see "Los Angeles Wins the Day"). This was shot down by Commissioner David Stern however, for what he deemed "basketball reasons". Many fans theorized that these reasons were because the league had just ended a lockout, that had cost almost two months of the regular season, primarily based on the fact that small market teams were losing big name players. To end the lockout with an immediate trade of a big name player to a big market was not exactly an ideal return for David Stern. So he did his best Vince Mcmahon impression and became the villain of the NBA, telling the Lakers that they would have to improve their offer or find another star to trade for.
Then, a team decided that after 30 years of disappointment and losing they were going to step out of the Lakers' shadow and become the best team in Los Angeles. The Clippers swooped in and made a deal for Chris Paul, the first legitimate superstar to be traded to the Clippers since...well since....umm....ever. This is literally the most important trade in Clipper history. If Chris Paul works out as a Clipper, it will change EVERYTHING. Great players have historically avoided the Clippers like a fat kid avoids the gym. A place that great players don't avoid though is Los Angeles. Looking at the Lakers' history shows that great players LOVE to play in Los Angeles, just as long as it isn't for the Clippers. If CP3 comes to the Clippers, the team starts to succeed, and he signs long term, then the Clippers could become the desired team to go to in Los Angeles. On the other hand, and to be honest the more likely hand, if Chris doesn't like being a Clipper, the team struggles, and he gets hurt or leaves in free agency, then it's back to the status quo with the Clippers being a distant second to the Lakers in LA.
I'm an optimist though, so lets look at the new-look Clippers. They have Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups, Caron Butler, Blake Griffin, and Deandre Jordan in the starting lineup, with Randy Foye, Ryan Gomes, Eric Bledsoe and Mo Williams off the bench. This lineup should get them to the playoffs, perhaps not as a top seed, but somewhere in the 4-6 range. The most important piece of this trade though is that the Clippers have Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. If you haven't seen Blake Griffin, go ahead and type his name into youtube, sit back and watch I'll wait.......still waiting........keep watching.............impressed right? Well now youtube Chris Paul and watch the passes he throws......yup he just did that......and yeah that too......pretty good passer eh? Now imagine Chris Paul throwing ally oop passes to Blake Griffin......HOLY $#!%.....! This is going to be the most fun team to watch in a long time. The phrase "Showtime" comes from when Magic Johnson was running the Lakers, but this could provide highlights that even surpass that.
So even if you're not a basketball fan, if you see a Clippers game on your television, sit back relax and watch because who knows what could happen. For the first time ever, there's going to be a battle in Los Angeles over who the best team in the city is, and the Clippers have fired the first shot. I think the Lakers will still have a better season, but if I could only watch one game at Staples Center this year, I'd pick the Clippers.
Anti-Jinx Addendum: I felt the need to add this because every time the Clippers seem to have a decent player or team something always goes wrong. They have a history of guys blowing out their knees, and I don't want to jinx Chris Paul in that way. I hate that he didn't want to come to Boston, but I wouldn't wish injury on any athlete (not even Kobe).
Thanks for reading, subscribe to my page, go back and read all my other entries, leave a comment, follow me on twitter @JoshViola19, and getcha popcorn ready, the Clippers are coming.
-Josh
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