On Saturday night, the NBA's impending free agency period lost a bit of its star appeal when Chris Paul's reps spoiled the ending to his free agency before it even began by informing teams prepping for the free agency dance at midnight that that the Clippers point guard already has a dance partner for the next five years. While the Nets were the recipients of the Clippers targets, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, the hiring of chaperone/coach Doc Rivers was enough to convince Paul that the Clipper' upward trajectory would only continue.
To call Paul's message to other teams a spoiler is pretty disingenious. The idea of a two-man supernova featuring Paul and Dwight Howard never appeared to gain any traction. Seems like Rivers' pitch to Paul quicker than he expected.
Via CBS Sports:
ESPN reports that Paul's representatives have informed teams not to bother with plans to pitch the All-Star point guard in free agency, because he plans on re-signing with the Clippers after their acquisition of Rivers one weeks ago.
Paul had been a lock to re-sign for much of the year, but there had been some doubt after reports surfaced he was "unhappy" with the Clippers over owner Donald Sterling publicly hinting Paul was behind the decision not to retain Del Negro. Then there was more noise about that when Paul was reportedly frustrated they failed to get Rivers when talks fell apart several times.
But then the Clippers pulled it off and got Rivers, the coach Paul wanted. Paul's not the kind of guy to walk away if you give him what he wants. He gets the most money in LA, the most endorsement opportunities, and has the most control over the franchise. Whether that's a good or bad thing remains to be seen but for now, he has the setup he wanted when he first entered the last year of his contract with the Hornets (when they were the Hornets) back in 2011.
