The New Orleans Hornets are going to move first — Chris Paul is the superstar most likely to be moved by the start of the season. (The Dwight Howard situation has more questions.)
And the Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers are at the front of the line, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
As the New Orleans Hornets push closer to making a decision on where to trade Chris Paul, the All-Star point guard has indicated the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors could significantly raise their chances of keeping him beyond this season if they also sign center Tyson Chandler, league sources told Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday.
Paul hasn’t promised he would re-sign with one of those teams following the 2011-12 season if they acquired Chandler, but league sources said Chandler could make a significant difference in ultimately swaying Paul to commit to a long-term deal.
While talk radio folks in Los Angeles scoff at the idea of Paul signing with the Clippers instead of the Lakers, that is the draw of playing with Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon — he may well agree to an extension with the Clippers if those two and Chandler are there. The Clippers would offer center DeAndre Jordan (a restricted free agent the Clippers are trying to re-sign), forward Al-Farouq Aminu, point guard Eric Bledsoe and the unprotected 2012 first-round pick of the Timberwolves.
Blake Griffin told ProBasketballTalk he would love to play with Chris Paul.
There is one huge hurdle, however — will Paul sign a long-term extension with a team owned by Donald Sterling? If this team had any other owner they might be the front runner, but his track record as an owner and person leave you to wonder if Paul really would sign there long term, Blake Griffin or not.
The Warriors offer is basically Stephen Curry — who the Warriors covet — and rookie Klay Thompson. The Celtics package is based around Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green is in the mix.
The questions there are, again, would Paul sign an extension with those teams? Does that change if they can bring in Tyson Chandler? (Remember that Paul and Chandler played three years together in New Orleans.) The Warriors have met with Chandler, but the Celtics have no real shot at getting him due to cap space restrictions.
Remember, Paul also wants to play for the Knicks and, so long as he is willing to take less money, can get there as a free agent this summer.
Wojnarowski says the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets remain on the outside but are trying hard to sway Paul and the Hornets.
