The Clippers and the New Orleans Hornets were working vigorously Sunday night to consummate a blockbuster deal that would send All-Star point guard Chris Paul to Los Angeles to play for the Lakers‘ cross-town rivals, said two people with knowledge of the situation who were not authorized to speak on the matter.
The deal hasn’t been completed, but both sides were in the closing stages of the negotiations.
The Clippers would send the Hornets center Chris Kaman, backup second-year guard Eric Bledsoe, second-year forward Al-Farouq Aminu and the No. 1 draft pick they got from the Minnesota Timberwolves that is unprotected in the 2012 draft, considered to be one of the best in recent years.
Getting Chris Paul without giving up Eric Gordon is a pretty good deal for the Clippers. Meanwhile, getting some decent young players and an unprotected pick in a very deep draft works for the Hornets.
It’s now up for league approval… and we know what that means. So let’s save any further analysis, including the possibility of watching Chris Paul throw lobs to Blake Griffin, for when this deal actually gets done.
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Update:
Twitter / @WojYahooNBA: The Hornets-Clippers deal … via kwout
Gah. I give up.
