Chris Paul Opts Out

[thanumba2clippersfan]

If there was a thumbs down option for Chris Paul joining the Lakers I would select it.

[JayClips92]

Any possibility CP signs a 1+1 deal so the clips would have more flexibility to sign the banana boat team?

[Ranma]

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[Ranma]

wolves just traded dunn so i'm not so sure they'll be that willing to part with a PG who is an all around impact player for them, especially after trading for butler. they wanna start winning now and moving rubio doesn't make a whole lot of sense now, i think. but who knows, they keep saying they wanna trade rubio and he just doesn't seem to go anywhere.

Zach Lowe, ESPN.com (6/23/17)

A team aiming to leap now is better off with Ricky Rubio, or whichever point guard Thibodeau chooses to replace him this summer. (Scott Layden, the team's GM, said Friday morning the Wolves are committed to keeping Rubio. The rest of the league remains skeptical.)
...

If Rubio goes, Minnesota could pursue any number of free-agent point guards -- Hill, Jeff Teague, Patty Mills, Jrue Holiday, and others. The higher-end guys may have lost two suitors when Philly and Brooklyn picked up point guards this week. They would be thrilled to gain a new one in Minnesota.

What was Behind the Butler Trade, and What Each Team Does Now

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[Ranma]

Kevin O' Connor, TheRinger.com (6/26/17)

If Redick and Griffin leave, there’s not much keeping Paul in Los Angeles other than the money. The Clippers can offer an enormous deal worth roughly $200 million over five years, which is the exact contract Paul helped negotiate into the new collective bargaining agreement, while other teams can offer only about $150 million over four years. The Spurs and Rockets are expected to make a run at Paul, which could be a leverage play by Paul’s reps for Paul to demand a no-trade clause from the Clippers. To sign Paul, the Spurs would have to create cap space, which began with Pau Gasol opting out and could end with a trade involving LaMarcus Aldridge. The Rockets would have to take the same salary-shifting measures. Either way, the Spurs and Rockets can offer him a better chance at taking down the Warriors than the Clippers.

Houston’s interest might come as a surprise, considering it already has a ball-dominant superstar guard in James Harden, but Rockets general manager Daryl Morey attempted to pair the two studs together in 2013. Back then, Bill Simmons reported Paul was prepared to sign with Houston after L.A.’s trade for Doc Rivers fell apart. Only after the Clippers offered a first-round pick to acquire Rivers did Paul decide to commit.

Rivers has failed to evolve with the changes in the league. The Clippers have never, in franchise history, gotten over the second-round hump. Maybe Paul realizes they’ve hit their ceiling and it’s time for a change. Even though he’d make significantly less money elsewhere, he’d still make a lot of money, and he’d have an opportunity to actually compete for a title.

Paul George, Blake Griffin, and More Unanswered NBA Questions

[Ranma]

Justin J. Page, ESPN Stats & Info (6/27/17)

If Paul returns and Griffin leaves

If Paul returns and Griffin heads elsewhere, the Clippers won't be able to simply go out and replace him because they'd be left with under $1 million in cap space. Should that occur, LA would likely operate as an over-the-cap team, meaning the most they'd be able to offer a free agent outside of their own would be the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which has a starting salary of $8.4 million.
...

If both Paul and Griffin leave

Should both Paul and Griffin leave, the Clippers would have about $34.4 million in salary cap space.

Simplifying Clippers' Convoluted Cap Situation

[Ranma]

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[Ranma]

This at least points a spotlight to what I've been critical of Doc about with regards to our dysfunctional leadership and lacking competitive mentality. DeAndre Jordan is the epitome of what our problems are despite people making excuses for him. Dude has been more concerned about being recognized as a good player than putting in the work to become a great one. He certainly has the physical abilities and inherent skills when you see him goof around, but his mental approach and toughness has been pathetic. I don't call him a mental midget for nothing.

Chris Paul also shares in the blame since he's cozied up to Doc and his bullheadedness certainly doesn't help the team dynamic, but at least no one doubts his competitive fire and will to win. I'm not sure what to think of Blake Griffin. I don't doubt that he works hard and wants to be a great player, but his decision-making with regards to those areas have been questionable to me. The fact that he is constantly injured raises questions that he may be misguided in his approach to prepare. His emotional outburst culminating into beating up one of his close friends and a team employee shows how frustrated and insecure he is with his place as an NBA player, which points to some elements of immaturity.

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[og15]

I'd be really surprised if he does anything else but re-sign for the max. To me, opting out was just him sending a message to upgrade the team, which they appear to be well on their way to doing so so far this offseason.

Opting out wasn't any sort of message, opting in would have been ridiculous. He was expected to opt out the first day he signed this contract.

[og15]

This at least points a spotlight to what I've been critical of Doc about with regards to our dysfunctional leadership and lacking competitive mentality. DeAndre Jordan is the epitome of what our problems are despite people making excuses for him. Dude has been more concerned about being recognized as a good player than putting in the work to become a great one. He certainly has the physical abilities and inherent skills when you see him goof around, but his mental approach and toughness has been pathetic. I don't call him a mental midget for nothing.

Chris Paul also shares in the blame since he's cozied up to Doc and his bullheadedness certainly doesn't help the team dynamic, but at least no one doubts his competitive fire and will to win. I'm not sure what to think of Blake Griffin. I don't doubt that he works hard and wants to be a great player, but his decision-making with regards to those areas have been questionable to me. The fact that he is constantly injured raises questions that he may be misguided in his approach to prepare. His emotional outburst culminating into beating up one of his close friends and a team employee shows how frustrated and insecure he is with his place as an NBA player, which points to some elements of immaturity.

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Fair initial point made about the bickering, Paul does not help alleviate or stop the bickering/whining, etc he even adds to it, but the problem is that the conclusion made from the first point doesn't truly compute. The "therefore that's why his team hasn't done anything", yea, if the Clippers had just been complaining and bickering less we would have gotten to the WCF or Finals, or have a championship....yea...not at all. Would if be great if they did even less of that? Yes. Has it been good that they have toned it down? Yes. Could they tone it down more? Yes, but that is pretty far down the list of the actual reasons the team has not succeeded.

[Roscoe Sheed]

The warriors bicker just as much if not more than the clippers but nobody in the national media seems to care when it comes to their behavior

[Ranma]

It'd be tragic irony for me to see the Rockets run out a lineup up that would sport a backcourt of Chris Paul and Eric Gordon in the backcourt whether it's a small-ball configuration or just something that happens when James Harden needs a breather. CP and EJ was something I was looking forward to seeing for the Clippers when I first heard news of the Chris Paul trade for the Clippers only to see them traded for one another.

In any case, it makes less sense to me for Paul to go to Houston, but if he's deadset to go there, I'll likely be bitter in removing him as my favorite player in the NBA. I mean if you're going to leave, at least go to a better situation instead of such a short-sighted destination. Then again, that has been his and his buddy Doc's problem with the Clippers the past few years. Still, CP and his agents are trying to induce Ballmer to press the panic button in order to give him the 5th-year max and a no-trade clause. I'm still ambivalent on this latest "development".

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Marc Stein, ESPN.com (6/27/17)

The Clippers, sources say, see both San Antonio and Houston as teams capable of convincing Paul to leave Los Angeles, where he has established deep roots in his time with the Clippers.
...

The Clippers, knowing the free-agent threat posed by San Antonio and Houston is real, hired NBA front-office legend Jerry West away from the reigning champion Golden State Warriors earlier this month in the first of a series of moves they are hoping will help persuade Paul to stay put.

But the Clippers, sources say, continue to worry that they won't be able to convince Paul to stay despite their considerable financial advantage over external suitors.

Rockets Emerge as Serious Contender for Chris Paul

[Wammy Giveaway]

Paul does not help alleviate or stop the bickering/whining, etc he even adds to it, but the problem is that the conclusion made from the first point doesn't truly compute. The "therefore that's why his team hasn't done anything", yea, if the Clippers had just been complaining and bickering less we would have gotten to the WCF or Finals, or have a championship....yea...not at all. Would if be great if they did even less of that? Yes. Has it been good that they have toned it down? Yes. Could they tone it down more? Yes, but that is pretty far down the list of the actual reasons the team has not succeeded.

And that was one of the main reasons I advocated for a Chris Paul ejection in a regular season game. It would have been the only way to stop all the vitriol pointing towards the Clippers. It would have highlighted Chris Paul's yearning for a championship, and is willing to destroy his nice-guy image and be an Eminem on AND off the court. It's a symbol of accountability and responsibility, as well as a metaphorical apology. I believe in the "good will begets good luck" philosophy, that doing good deeds for the right reasons translates to good rewards. Look at the Spurs: they play for the good of the sport and all of humanity. No egos, no flash, no heroes, just fundamental, team-orientated basketball. It even helps that a few of their championships have come under a league-related crisis. The Spurs championship in 2014 featured the Donald Sterling scandal, and the Clippers were the Monie In The Middle.

The warriors bicker just as much if not more than the clippers but nobody in the national media seems to care when it comes to their behavior

Because of the championship. The golden rule: "Whoever has the gold makes the rules." Winning a championship protects you from criticism of any sort. Ironically, setting the 73-9 record also protected them. The only criticism they ever received was blowing the 3-1 lead in the Finals. That no longer applies thanks to this year's championship by way of a second chance.

The only reason the Clippers get the harshest of criticism is because they've been losers for so long. The media thinks the Clippers are a rookie when it comes to the playoffs.

In any case, it makes less sense to me for Paul to go to Houston, but if he's deadset to go there, I'll likely be bitter in removing him from as my favorite player in the NBA. I mean if you're going to leave, at least go to a better situation instead of such a short-sighted destination. Then again, that has been his and his buddy Doc's problem with the Clippers the past few years. Still, CP and his agents are trying to induce Ballmer to induce the panic button in order to give him the 5th-max and a no-trade clause. I'm still ambivalent on this latest "development".

It's all about the 3-1 record. The Rockets came back from a 3-1 deficit against the Clippers in 2015. Teams who suffered a 3-1 collapse are usually forced into painful rebuilds. After the Thunder lost to the Warriors with their own 3-1 comeback, Kevin Durant spurned OKC to join the same team who defeated him; and now he's got a ring. As for the Thunder, they became a 1st round exit. The Rockets are praying that the pitch Golden State used to acquire Durant will have the same effect on Chris Paul.

[DoItALL9]

Seems it did

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