NBA free agency doesn’t begin until Friday, but this offseason has already been a wild one. One All-Star has already been moved in Jimmy Butler, and now another one is set to be traded as well.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul will opt-in to the last year of his contract so the Clippers can trade him to the Houston Rockets:
The Los Angeles Clippers have reached agreement on a trade to send All-Star point guard Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets, league sources told The Vertical.
Paul, 32, agreed to opt in to the final year of his $24.2 million contract, clearing the way for the Clippers to execute a trade with the Rockets and bring back assets for Paul, league sources said.
In return, the Clippers will be getting a package headlined by defensive stalwart Patrick Beverley:
The Rockets will send the Clippers a package that includes guards Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams, forward Sam Dekker and a 2018 first-round pick (protected Nos. 1-3), league sources told The Vertical. There are smaller parts to the deal, including non-guaranteed contracts, league sources said.
Beverley was long believed to be shopped by the Rockets as they hoped to clear salary cap space to be able to land another star player. In Dekker the Clippers get a young, promising two-way wing that they’ve been searching for and Lou Williams makes his return to Los Angeles as well.
The Rockets have now armed themselves with the best point guard of this generation to pair with MVP candidate James Harden to form an extremely potent backcourt. Both players are used to having the ball in their hands so they will have to figure out how to play together.
Nonetheless the Rockets are looking to compete with the league’s top teams and adding a player like Paul undoubtedly brings them closer to the level of the Golden State Warriors.