Los Angeles Clippers trade star guard Chris Paul to Houston Rockets
The Los Angeles Clippers parted ways with their star point guard Chris Paul on Wednesday, agreeing to trade the 32-year-old to the Houston Rockets. Paul joined the Clippers in 2012 and led the beleaguered franchise to its six best seasons by win percentage, but the Clippers were never able to advance past the second round of the playoffs even with their star trio of Paul, forward Blake Griffin, and center DeAndre Jordan.
A nine-time All-Star who was named to the NBA's All-Defensive First Team for the sixth consecutive season this year, Paul will join MVP finalist James Harden in Houston's backcourt. Harden's transition to point guard last season was hailed as an awakening for the eighth-year man, but now he will presumably share with Paul the burden of running Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni's fast-paced, trigger-happy offense. Paul and Harden had apparently wanted to play together for some time, Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reported.
In return for Paul, Houston is sending defensive guard Patrick Beverley, scorer Lou Williams, and second-year forward Sam Dekker — among others — to Los Angeles.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
