After days of rumor and speculation, the New Orleans Hornets have agreed in principle to a deal that has point guard Chris Paul headed to the Clippers.
Some would say it was a high price to land the all-star. The Clippers gave up guard Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, and first-round pick Al-Farouq Aminu.
The Hornets are getting a prolific young shooting guard in Gordon. He averaged 22.3 points last season. And 6-foot-9 Aminu is a second year pro who averaged 5.6 points and 3.3 rebounds as a rookie.
Commissioner David Stern approved the trade on behalf of the Hornets, a league-owned team, people told the Associated Press Wednesday on the condition of anonymity because the NBA had not ratified the deal.
Paul, a four-time all-star who averaged 18.7 points and 9.8 assists last season, has agreed to pick up his $17.7 million option in 2013 and will consider signing a long-term extension.
His move to the Clippers means he'll now be able to make alley-oop lobs to a young star famous for dunking over a car, forward Blake Griffin. Griffin averaged 22.5 points and 12.1 rebounds last season, his first in the NBA.
Paul received much attention last week when the framework of a three-team trade started to take shape, potentially sending the point guard to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
However, the trade was later blocked by the NBA.
Follow NBCLA for the latest LA news, events and entertainment: Twitter: @NBCLA // Facebook: NBCLA
