The Clippers, long overshadowed by the Lakers, acquired Paul from the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night, ending a twisting, contentious chapter in league history.
Paul, an elite point guard, will be joining Blake Griffin, one of the league’s most electrifying players. The pairing rivals the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol in star power and could eventually overtake them. Paul is just 26, while Griffin — the reigning rookie of the year and slam-dunk champion — is 22.
The intrigue comes with asterisks and anger.
The Clippers completed the blockbuster deal only six nights after Commissioner David Stern — acting as the Hornets’ de facto owner — rejected a three-team deal that would have sent Paul to the Lakers. The decision was quickly denounced by team officials around the league, who considered it improper for Stern to dictate where a player would land.
Stern, in a conference call Wednesday night, conceded the awkward position created by the league’s ownership of the Hornets. But he defended his veto of the Lakers deal and said the trade sending Paul to the Clippers “is a very good transaction and better for the future of the Hornets” than “the transaction on which I did not sign off.”
The Clippers are sending the Hornets four of their best assets: shooting guard Eric Gordon, who turns 23 this month; a 2012 first-round draft pick that belonged to the Minnesota Timberwolves; the promising young forward Al-Farouq Aminu; and center Chris Kaman, whose expiring contract will help the Hornets lower their payroll.
Minnesota’s pick, which is unprotected, might be the most valuable piece in the package. The Timberwolves are almost guaranteed to be in the lottery again, and the 2012 draft is expected to be stocked with elite talent.
The trade that Stern rejected last week would have sent the Lakers’ Lamar Odom to New Orleans, along with three players from the Houston Rockets — Luis Scola, Kevin Martin and Goran Dragic — plus a first-round pick from the Lakers.
The package the Hornets received from the Clippers is less accomplished, but younger and certainly brimming with talent.
When asked why this deal was superior to the one he vetoed, Stern demurred and passed the question to Dell Demps, the Hornets’ general manager, who was also on the call.
“We’re getting some exciting young players,” Demps said, adding, “I think for the long-term future of the New Orleans Hornets, this is the best move.”
But Demps said that trading Paul — who had asked to be dealt — was “bittersweet.” Paul, a four-time All-Star and one of the league’s top point guards, was the face of the franchise for six years, leading the Hornets to the playoffs three times. He averaged 15.8 points and 9.8 assists last season.
Paul and Griffin will be together for at least two seasons, with Paul agreeing as part of the trade to opt into his contract for 2012-13, rather than become a free agent. The Clippers’ hope is that Paul’s arrival convinces Griffin to stay, and vice versa.
The Lakers and the Clippers will meet next week in two preseason games at Staples Center, the downtown arena they both call home.
The Paul-Griffin pairing is easily the most talented in the modern history of the Clippers, who have made the playoffs only four times since moving to Los Angeles in 1984. It came at a steep price.
Gordon, who averaged 22.3 points last season, is a rising star, and Aminu is highly regarded. The Clippers had resisted parting with both Gordon and the Minnesota draft pick, initially telling the Hornets they had to choose one. At one point, the Hornets were also asking for Eric Bledsoe, a promising young point guard.
In the end, the Hornets — with Demps as the point person, but with the commissioner’s office overseeing every move — got four of the Clippers’ best five trading chips.
The Clippers now have a big hole at shooting guard and some depth problems. But they have a promising young anchor at center, the 23-year-old DeAndre Jordan, whom the Clippers re-signed earlier this week.
The Clippers also have an overabundance of point guards with Paul, Bledsoe, Mo Williams and Chauncey Billups, whom they claimed on waivers earlier in the week. One or more of those players could be traded to fill the shooting-guard vacancy.
The Hornets are essentially starting over, but with a young and inexpensive lineup that the league hopes will be attractive to potential buyers. Stern said he expected the franchise to be sold in the first half of 2012. The league purchased the team from George Shinn last December for $300 million.
The sale will relieve Stern of his duties as the Hornets’ steward, removing him from the untenable position of serving as both commissioner and team owner. Stern’s veto last week set off a wave of conspiracy theories: that he had caved in to rival owners, who did not want the Lakers to get Paul; or that he was keeping Paul in New Orleans to prop up a small-market team.
Stern said he made the decision himself and dismissed the “frenzy” of angry reactions and “wild speculation.”
“I knew that we were doing the best thing for New Orleans,” he said. “That was my job. And when you do what I’ve been doing, dealing with the N.B.A. for I guess approaching 40 years, you have to stick with what you think is right.”
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