Clipper Nation loses its leader
Star guard apparently no longer loved L.A.
With the trade of Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets, “the Clipper Curse lives,” writes Bill Plaschke.
When Chris Paul told the Clippers during a meeting this week of his desire to play for the Houston Rockets, it didn’t come as much of a surprise.
His words were a “formality,” simply confirming what the team already knew, one Clippers official said Wednesday, after the news broke about a trade that sent the All-Star guard to the Rockets in exchange for guards Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams, forward Sam Dekker, center Montrezl Harrell, other players who do not have guaranteed contracts and a 2018 first-round draft pick.
Paul’s relationship with Clippers coach Doc Rivers had grown rocky — possibly over the team’s refusal to include Austin Rivers, the coach’s son, in a deal to acquire Carmelo Anthony — and there also was a sense
that Paul and fellow All-Star Blake Griffin had tired of playing with each other.
The Clippers still were interested in re-signing Paul, but not for the maximum five years and $205 million, one team executive said. The prospect of paying Paul more than $46 million in the final year of such a deal, when he would be 38, wasn’t attractive. And the Clippers were not interested in granting him a notrade clause.
“At the end of the day, he gave us four good years and that’s all I can ask for,” Doc Rivers told The Times about his years with Paul. “I hate the way it ended. I wish we could have ended it better, as far as winning. But as a franchise, we love where we’re at.”
On his Twitter account, Paul thanked the Clippers organization and the team’s fans. He also wrote, “Unbelievable amount of emotions right now — I don’t even know what to say. Lots of love and tears. I’m so blessed and thankful for the ability to play this game, this is the part that no one can prepare you for.”
In the end, what happened to the Oklahoma City Thunder last year when it lost Kevin Durant to the Golden State Warriors became a cautionary tale for the Clippers. “The Clippers had to deal or they would have lost him for nothing,” one Eastern Conference executive said. “The Rockets could have created cap space to get Chris.”
The trade allowed the Clippers to get something in return, and it saved the Rockets the trouble of having to clear salary-cap space before the start of free agency.
“It’s a weapons race in the NBA, and you’re either in the weapons race or on the sidelines,” Houston general manager Daryl Morey told the Associated Press. “We felt like with James Harden in his prime and Chris Paul in his prime this gives us a real shot to chase the juggernaut teams that are out there. This puts us right there with them.”
In Beverley, 28, the Clippers get a hard-nosed competitor who was on the NBA’s all-defensive first team, as was Paul. He has a teamfriendly contract that pays him $5.5 million next season with a team option for 2018-19 for the same price.
Dekker, 23, is an athletic player with decent threepoint range. Williams, 30, a former Laker, is one of the NBA’s best sixth men. Harrell, 23, is a high-energy player who will be entering his third season in the league.
The other players coming to the Clippers — forward Kyle Wiltjer and guards Darrun Hilliard and DeAndre Liggins — have been seldomused reserves.
“Under the circumstances, I thought we did terrific,” Doc Rivers said. “Getting Patrick Beverley and Dekker and Montrezl was very important for us. And getting a firstround pick was important. Now we have assets.”
With Paul’s salary off the books, the Clippers believe they are in better position to sign Griffin to a five-year, $175million extension when the free-agent signing period begins Friday night.
Paul came to the Clippers before the 2011 season after a proposed trade sending him from the New Orleans Hornets to the Lakers fell apart when then-commissioner David Stern vetoed it.
To acquire Paul, the Clippers sent Eric Gordon, AlFarouq Aminu, Chris Kaman and a draft pick that eventually became Austin Rivers to New Orleans.
In Paul, the team now had the established superstar it craved, pairing him with young big men DeAndre Jordan and Griffin, who coined the term “Lob City” when informed of the deal.
The Clippers instantly became a credible threat, piling up regular-season victories and playoff appearances, but never able to get past the second round, a stretch that included heartbreaking losses to Oklahoma City in 2014 and Houston in 2015.
Paul’s performance on the court was unquestioned, where he was the best player to wear a Clipper uniform.
During his six seasons with the organization, Paul averaged 18.8 points, 9.8 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals while committing only 2.3 turnovers a game. He was named to three All-NBA first teams, two All-NBA second teams and six all-defensive first teams.
He’s the franchise’s alltime leader in assists, second in steals, fourth in free-throw percentage and sixth in points.
A demanding teammate, Paul often was polarizing inside the Clippers’ locker room because of his high expectations and on-court demeanor. Jordan nearly left the Clippers in free agency for Dallas, in part, because of fractures in his relationship with Paul. The two would say the friction was blown out of proportion, though the chatter always persisted.
“We’ve heard all the stories about Blake and DJ and Austin. I can’t comment just on Austin because it’s just not right,” Doc Rivers said. “We’ve heard he left because of all three today. He left because of DJ, he left because of Blake and now he left because of Austin. We know he didn’t leave because of that. There is a lot of speculation on why he left. The one thing I know is he didn’t leave because of any of those three guys. He left because he felt like he would have a better chance to win somewhere else.
“He left because he wanted to be with James Harden. Like, let’s not get that twisted. I wish him well. I have no problem with that. Do I disagree? Yeah, I think he would have been better served here. But that’s not for me. That’s CP to decide and he decided against that.”
‘He left because he wanted to be with James Harden. Like, let’s not get that twisted.’ — Doc Rivers, Clippers coach, on Chris Paul