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Clippers Send Chris Paul To The Houston Rockets
(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
The Clippers have agreed to trade superstar point guard Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets, reports the L.A. Times. In return, L.A. will get Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, as well as a first-round draft pick in 2018.
A Clippers executive told the Times that Paul had informed the team that he'd intended to sign with the Rockets as a free agent, but he later agreed to enact an opt-in clause that kept him with the Clippers, allowing the team to trade him to get players and draft picks in return.
Paul tweeted his gratitude to L.A. on Wednesday morning:
Unbelievable amount of emotions right now.. pic.twitter.com/1FB7ade7uC
— Chris Paul (@CP3) June 28, 2017
Of course, Paul isn't the only one on the outs. Blake Griffin and JJ Redick are now free agents; ESPN reports that, after unloading Paul, the team is now focused on retaining Griffin (we hope it works out because those Kia commercials are pretty awesome).
Certainly, the loss of Paul hurts. In the six seasons he'd spend with the Clippers, he'd turned out an impressive average of 18.8 points, 9.8 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals. He's also regarded by ESPN as one of the top ten point guards to have ever played the game.
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