The Los Angeles Clippers are having another decent regular season but have suffered quite a bit when it comes to meeting their goals in the postseason since acquiring Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Of course, the biggest failure that comes to mind is one of the biggest choke jobs in recent memory. Up 3-1 against the Denver Nuggets with a chance to face the Lakers in the 2020 Western Conference Finals, they had multiple leads vanish in three straight games resulting in losses. We simply cannot remember a time when a team literally threw away a Western Conference Finals appearance for no apparent reason. What’s even worse is that the team was stacked with talent, including the likes of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George healthy and available.
- The Clippers Re-Acquire Their Hall Of Fame Point Guard To Win The West
- The Clippers Can Trade Veterans And A First-Round Pick For CP3
- A Perfect Blockbuster Trade That Gives Clippers The Best Chance To Make The Finals
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Since Tyronn Lue took over, the Clippers have been making moves to try to get to the NBA Finals, including adding Reggie Jackson, Norman Powell, Robert Covington, and Luke Kennard, among others. They still have Kawhi Leonard, who is one of the greatest two-way players in history, and Paul George, who led the Clippers to the Western Conference Finals almost singlehandedly in the 2021 season. This season, the Clippers stand at 29-25, which is good for 4th in the Western Conference despite Leonard and George each playing under 40 games each this season.
But the Clippers can take a major step above the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies by clearing the roster and using their trade assets to acquire one of the all-time greatest point guards ever Chris Paul. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George can be a perfect duo in theory, but adding the likes of Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul will essentially book their place in the NBA Finals this season. Obviously, Chris Paul has a ton of history with the Clippers franchise and was one of their most accomplished players ever. Here is how the Clippers can create a Big 3 with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Chris Paul.
The Clippers Re-Acquire Their Hall Of Fame Point Guard To Win The West
Chris Paul is the greatest Los Angeles Clipper of all time. What he did for the franchise was special because he single-handedly made them relevant in the Western Conference. For years, the Clippers were laughed at when compared to their rival Lakers, and for good reason. Terrible ownership, but Chris Paul changed all that during the “Lob City” era. Under the tremendous ownership of Steve Balmer, the Clippers convinced Kawhi Leonard to join them and also traded for Paul George last year to make them relevant once again. Unfortunately, the Clippers couldn’t get the job done.
The Clippers once again need superstar point guard Chris Paul to save their franchise. He is one of the 5 best point guards in the NBA when healthy and made his 12th All-Star Team last year. Paul is exactly what the Clippers need in terms of playmaking and on-floor leadership. Reggie Jackson is more of an energizer bunny rather than a consistent playmaker, and the team is devoid of any real playmaking outside of veteran John Wall. The Clippers lacked playmaking, and that’s the main reason why they faltered in the playoffs in recent years. Chris Paul will make the Clippers’ backcourt an amazing defensive unit, he will get Kawhi and George to their spots, and will provide leadership which they sorely lacked in the playoffs.
This season, the Los Angeles Clippers rank 28th in PPG which is not good enough for a team looking to win a championship. Poor ball movement and inefficient playmaking have hindered this team even when Leonard and George have been healthy because even great players need a proper point guard to be an extension of the coach on the court. The Clippers also run 25th in the NBA in APG, once again proving the team lacks passing. The leading playmaker on the team is Paul George, who is posting 5.4 APG despite being the primary scorer on the team behind Kawhi Leonard.
Los Angeles cannot also make shots consistently enough, as they rank 20th in field-goal percentage, which means that they struggle to score when their elite three-point shooting isn’t quite there. The Clippers rely greatly on the three, and they rank 7th in the NBA in 3-PT FG (37.7%), which is a reason there are above .500. But by adding an elite point guard, the Clippers have a ton of room to grow.
The Clippers Can Trade Veterans And A First-Round Pick For CP3
Trade Package: John Wall, Marcus Morris, 2028 First-Round Pick for Chris Paul
Luckily for the Los Angeles Clippers, Chris Paul could be available. The Phoenix Suns have suffered tremendously in recent weeks, and changes could be coming sooner rather than later. As reported by Bleacher Report NBA writer Eric Pincus, there could be “significant” changes coming to the Phoenix Suns roster:
“Despite changes at the very top, the team is expected to make more significant changes after the season, but sources say the team has come to terms with the likelihood that Paul is starting to decline (38 years old in May). Even if he can bring it for another postseason, the Suns need to find a long-term replacement,” said Pincus.
“Paul is owed $60.8 million over the next two seasons, but only $15.8 million is guaranteed. If the team can find a taker that brings back a suitable replacement who can help the team now and into the future, now may be the time to move him. Phoenix can include players like Jae Crowder and Dario Šarić as needed for salary-matching purposes. Shedding payroll could help, given that the team is about $16.4 million over the luxury-tax threshold with $33.3 million in expected penalties.”
Obviously, the Phoenix Suns have not recovered from their 2021 Finals defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks. Since then, Deandre Ayton has remained unhappy with the organization, the owner Robert Sarver is being forced to sell the team due to off-court issues, and Chris Paul has not managed to improve Devin Booker enough this season. In other words, the team is not doing well as they stand only 27-26 after leading the West with the No. 1 seed last year. As Eric Pincus suggests, the Suns would be foolish not to move on and build around Devin Booker.
The Suns will want to move on from Paul, so acquiring a package around an expiring contract in John Wall and only another year left of Marcus Morris ($17,116,279 in 2024) might do the trick. The Suns don’t need Paul’s massive contract eating into their space when they can’t be competing anyways, and Terance Mann gives them a long-term solution on the wing as well. Morris can either be moved again or kept to provide a balance of scoring and defense at the forward spot until the Suns re-organize their roster. Obviously, the likes of Booker, Mann, and Cameron Johnson would be untouchables on the roster going forward.
A Perfect Blockbuster Trade That Gives Clippers The Best Chance To Make The Finals
Without an All-Star playmaker, as Kawhi Leonard has been pleading for, the Clippers won’t have enough time to organize their team chemistry in a short amount of time. Ranking 25th in assists is not good enough, and neither is 28th in PPG and 20th in FG%. The Clippers are relying greatly on their three-point shooting and defense (9th in defensive rating), which are great signs, but Chris Paul can maintain those areas and add to their playmaking and scoring.
This year, at age 38, CP3 is posting 14.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 8.7 APG on 41.3% from the three-point line. The point guard won’t have to carry the franchise like he used to do between 2012 and 2017, as he has Leonard and George to rely on in the offense. The point guard excels around other stars, and just as he proved with Devin Booker in 2021, CP3 knows how to play alongside elite offensive players. Paul is also an elite three-point shooter who can make shots when open and also when contested.
A starting lineup of Paul, Powell, George, Leonard, and Zubac is absolutely stacked on both ends of the floor. No team will be able to field 5 dominant defensive players at their positions while also doing enough on offense in terms of spacing. The Clippers also have tremendous depth, with Reggie Jackson, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, and Luke Kennard coming into the game to space the floor and play versatile defense. Paul revolutionizes the Clippers’ starting lineup because they can shuffle the roster and get rid of players who aren’t exactly what the team needs right now.
John Wall was supposed to be the team’s star at the point guard spot, but he is past his best and is a poor three-point shooter. Wall is only shooting 30.3% from three and is a player who must take a lot of shots to make a difference on offense, something the Clippers don’t need right now. Marcus Morris has been a solid two-way forward for the Clippers over the past few years, but the team can sacrifice 12.9 PPG and 4.4 RPG if it means acquiring a Hall of Fame player. Mann is an energizer bunny off the bench but is only averaging 8.4 PPG and would be better off playing more minutes with the Suns.
Overall, the Clippers give Kawhi Leonard his point guard and form the most talented Big Three in the NBA right now. With Paul occupying the point guard spot, Los Angeles wins the West because they are only 7.5 games behind the first seed and can finish in the top 3 with ease. Los Angeles has an excellent defense and solid three-point shooters, so adding better playmaking gives the Clippers the best chance to make the NBA Finals since the 2020 season.
