AROUND the NBA:

[F Gump]

So what else is new? Dude can't stay on the floor to save his life.

Zion's very available - and should be gettable at a very modest price if someone wants him. (I have no desire for the Mavs to be interested.) The question is whether NO will find a taker, or if not, what then? If he doesn't meet certain criteria, he can be waived and remove all future obligations if they want to just pull the plug. He has talent but lots of issues to deal with, both on and off the court, that a team has to weigh.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6857787...sent-home/

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/4719...-pg-ouster



CP3 and coach Ty Lue weren't even on speaking terms anymore. The Clippers are in a free-fall as a franchise.

[Smitty]

@ChrisBHaynes
BREAKING: Los Angeles Clippers are sending home future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul in a bizarre severing ties move, league sources tell me.

[SleepingHero]

Waiving CP3 in the middle of the night was not on my bingo card. Is it too late to waive Exum and sign CP3?

[Smitty]

@TheDunkCentral
Lou Will says he heard from people in the Clippers organization that Chris Paul was very critical of the players, coaches, and front office — and the front office had enough of his criticism ?

[omahen]

So what else is new? Dude can't stay on the floor to save his life.

I never understood why he was such a surefire first pick in his draft class. Of course he (had) tremendous potential, but his health issues were imho very predictable. I am no doctor, but looking at his body and the way he plays, I don't think (any) human body can survive that. 

Although, looking from a safe time distance, that draft class didn't really give much options. Morant was a clear no.2, but he has a bunch of issues on his own, that might be known for good scouts even in the time of draft (of course there is more hope that he cleans up his act than Zion suddenly becomes healthy). Rest of the draft class was pretty meh, at least no stars. Herro and Garland are arguably best players from that draft followed by good role players like Hunter, PJ, Cam Johnson and White. Many misses in top 15 like Culver, Hayes, Reddish, Langford and Doumbouya.

[mvossman]

@TheDunkCentral
Lou Will says he heard from people in the Clippers organization that Chris Paul was very critical of the players, coaches, and front office — and the front office had enough of his criticism ?

DJJ managed to evade the total shitshow in Dallas but it looks like he walked into an even bigger one in LA.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/4717...ards-limbo


Ja, LaMelo, and Trae. What's next for these 3 all-star guards in limbo?

[HoosierDaddyKid]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6857956...riors-nba/


AT 21-1, can the Thunder eclipse GS's 73 wins in a season?

[KillerLeft]

DJJ managed to evade the total shitshow in Dallas but it looks like he walked into an even bigger one in LA.

Tough to say he made a mistake, given the first part of your point, but I've always felt he was pretty silly for jumping ship over such a small amount of money. I suppose one could assume losing his starting job was part of the thought process, too, but it's not like he was even a starter here for most of that season. I have always felt like there must've been more to it, as in he didn't get along with Kidd, or Luka, or something like that. Obviously that's just speculation, but dude fit perfectly here and they were coming off of a finals berth. It doesn't seem like squeezing such a minor extra amount out of his next contract should've been so important. If it was the determining factor, I think he might just "not get it."

[SleepingHero]

@ShamsCharania
Chris Paul and his leadership style clashed with the Clippers, sources tell ESPN. Paul has been vocal in holding management, coaches and players accountable, which the team felt became disruptive. Specifically: Ty Lue was not on speaking terms with Paul for several weeks.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basket...er-dies-57


Clemson great Elden Campbell dies at 57.

He wasn't a star, but a very good player. I remember he did yeoman's work guarding
Shaq, along with Ben Wallace, in the 04 Finals for Detroit vs the Lakers. RIP

[F Gump]

I don't want CP3 here. That's true even if you could swap Exum for him, because you couldn't package CP3 as filler in a trade at the TDL if you traded for him now.

And CP3 isn't going to be any more useful as a PG than Exum. His game is worthless now (he's not a solution). As a point of reference, LAC is really good at wringing value out of veterans, and their track record shows that when they send away one of these former stars, the player is done-done.

CP3 isn't going to be a good mentor either. What you'd get is a player who wants to run the show (as he did when he was a top PG) and raises a stink when he isn't calling the shots. A coach can defer to a star but not to a washed-up has-been.

[omahen]

Tough to say he made a mistake, given the first part of your point, but I've always felt he was pretty silly for jumping ship over such a small amount of money. I suppose one could assume losing his starting job was part of the thought process, too, but it's not like he was even a starter here for most of that season. I have always felt like there must've been more to it, as in he didn't get along with Kidd, or Luka, or something like that. Obviously that's just speculation, but dude fit perfectly here and they were coming off of a finals berth. It doesn't seem like squeezing such a minor extra amount out of his next contract should've been so important. If it was the determining factor, I think he might just "not get it."

You are neglecting an option that Mavs simply didn't want to resign him, because they wanted a better offensive player. I think they saw that in Naji. He is a far better offensive player, who is still decent on defense.

[FireNicoHarrison]

@ShamsCharania
Chris Paul and his leadership style clashed with the Clippers, sources tell ESPN. Paul has been vocal in holding management, coaches and players accountable, which the team felt became disruptive. Specifically: Ty Lue was not on speaking terms with Paul for several weeks.

I don't want to see this clown in Mavs jersey

[KillerLeft]

You are neglecting an option that Mavs simply didn't want to resign him, because they wanted a better offensive player. I think they saw that in Naji. He is a far better offensive player, who is still decent on defense.

Touché. Very possible. 

They called DJJ their top priority at the time, but that doesn't mean much during transactional windows, I suppose.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Touché. Very possible. 

They called DJJ their top priority at the time, but that doesn't mean much during transactional windows, I suppose.

Naji may be slightly better on offense, but to me DJJ was and is the better defender. I get they got Naji at a better price too. That matters also.

[michaeltex]

I don't want CP3 here. That's true even if you could swap Exum for him, because you couldn't package CP3 as filler in a trade at the TDL if you traded for him now.

And CP3 isn't going to be any more useful as a PG than Exum. His game is worthless now (he's not a solution). As a point of reference, LAC is really good at wringing value out of veterans, and their track record shows that when they send away one of these former stars, the player is done-done.

CP3 isn't going to be a good mentor either. What you'd get is a player who wants to run the show (as he did when he was a top PG) and raises a stink when he isn't calling the shots. A coach can defer to a star but not to a washed-up has-been.

ALL of this!

Plus, I'll never forgive the way he shanghaied DAJ to prevent Cuban signing him away.

Unfortunately, he'll probably be in the HOF at some point.

[mvossman]

You are neglecting an option that Mavs simply didn't want to resign him, because they wanted a better offensive player. I think they saw that in Naji. He is a far better offensive player, who is still decent on defense.

I'm not sure Naji is a far better offensive player.  He is worse shooter/floor spacer which is more important on a team with Luka and Kyrie.  We were also told that he was offered the same contract Naji was offered first (its been a while but I believe it was a credible source).  At this point Nico was the only one running the show and I think it was more about getting his buddy Klay in here than anything else.

[mvossman]

Tough to say he made a mistake, given the first part of your point, but I've always felt he was pretty silly for jumping ship over such a small amount of money. I suppose one could assume losing his starting job was part of the thought process, too, but it's not like he was even a starter here for most of that season. I have always felt like there must've been more to it, as in he didn't get along with Kidd, or Luka, or something like that. Obviously that's just speculation, but dude fit perfectly here and they were coming off of a finals berth. It doesn't seem like squeezing such a minor extra amount out of his next contract should've been so important. If it was the determining factor, I think he might just "not get it."

He was the starter from day one.  He started all but 10 games in the regular season and every game in the playoffs.  I definitely think that was the reason he went to LA.