Clipsnation: Can the Clippers trade for CP3 by reversing their original trade

Can the Clippers trade for Chris Paul?
By Lucas Hann


Scenarios

To simplify things, let me draw out the frameworks of the suggested trades made in this column:

LAC – OKC – CHA 3-team trade
LAC gets: Chris Paul
LAC gives: Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Rodney McGruder, Montrezl Harrell (sign-and-trade), Joakim Noah (if needed, pending Harrell’s new salary)
LAC rationale: The Clippers sacrifice depth, but add a legitimate third star and floor general, while holding on to enough to still have a strong 8-man rotation next post-season.

OKC gets: Nicolas Batum, Lou Williams
OKC gives: Chris Paul
OKC rationale: The Thunder save $6M in 2020-21 salary and an astounding $44 million in 2021-22 salary. Williams’ expiring is also a valuable asset for good teams looking to add a scoring punch, especially since players of his caliber won’t be available at that price point in free agency without committing multiple years of salary and compromising 2021 free agency.

CHA gets: Patrick Beverley, Rodney McGruder, Montrezl Harrell (sign-and-trade)
CHA gives: Nicolas Batum
CHA rationale: This deal assumes the Hornets wanted to sign Montrezl Harrell anyway, so in essence the trade is Beverley and McGruder for Batum. As long as Beverley’s 2021-22 salary isn’t a big issue–and it shouldn’t be, since Charlotte isn’t a free agent destination and would likely be able to flip his deal if they needed to anyway–it’s an absolute no-brainer to save money and add useful players.

LAC – OKC – ATL 3-team trade
LAC gets: Chris Paul
LAC gives: Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Rodney McGruder, Montrezl Harrell (sign-and-trade), Joakim Noah (if needed, pending Harrell’s new salary)
LAC rationale: Same as above.

OKC gets: Dewayne Dedmon, Lou Williams, Patrick Beverley (maybe), Rodney McGruder (maybe)
OKC gives: Chris Paul
OKC rationale: Same as above–they save a little money this year, a boatload of money next year, and get to flip Lou Williams for potential additional savings and/or assets. Plus, if they don’t want Beverley and/or McGruder and Atlanta does, the Hawks have the cap room to absorb one or both of those contracts and potentially create huge additional savings for the Thunder.

ATL gets: Montrezl Harrell (sign-and-trade), Patrick Beverley (maybe), Rodney McGruder (maybe)
ATL gives: Dewayne Dedmon
ATL rationale: Again, this assumes the Hawks were going to sign Harrell anyway, so getting rid of Dedmon’s money is a nice free salary dump. Plus, if they want Beverley and/or McGruder, they’d have the opportunity to add rotation players for free to help OKC save more money.

LAC – OKC – NYK 3-team trade
LAC gets: Chris Paul
LAC gives: Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Rodney McGruder, Montrezl Harrell (sign-and-trade), Joakim Noah (if needed, pending Harrell’s new salary), 2nd round pick
LAC rationale: Same as above.

OKC gets: Taj Gibson and/or Etwaun Moore, Lou Williams, Patrick Beverley (maybe), Rodney McGruder (maybe)
OKC gives: Chris Paul
OKC rationale: Same as above–marginal short-term savings, big savings next year, flipping Lou for assets, and potentially passing Beverley and/or McGruder along to NYK for more savings. Plus, the low guarantees on Gibson and Moore’s contracts could allow OKC additional savings, pending timing on the trade and guarantee dates in the re-scheduled free agency.

Patrick Beverley re-trade to Sacramento
[Team X] gets: Corey Joseph
[Team X] gives: Patrick Beverley
[Team X] rationale: Whoever ends up with Pat’s two-year contract, whether it’s OKC, Atlanta, Charlotte, or New York, might choose to flip him for a downgrade at backup guard in exchange for the additional flexibility afforded by Joseph’s deal, which is guaranteed for just $1 million next season.

SAC gets: Patrick Beverley
SAC gives: Corey Joseph
SAC rationale: Beverley is an upgrade over Joseph, and this is one of what could be several moves the Kings make where acknowledging that 2021 cap room won’t do them any good allows them to win trades with teams who are looking to free up 2021 room of their own. Sacramento won’t make shortsighted deals, but Beverley’s contract is far from an albatross and is just one year away from being a valuable expiring they can re-trade, just like Joseph’s now.

Lou Williams re-trade to Philadelphia
OKC gets: Mike Scott, Norvel Pelle, PHI 2021 1st (top 20 protected, rolls over to 2 2nds)
OKC gives: Lou Williams
OKC rationale: The rebuilding Thunder cash in on a 34-year-old veteran who doesn’t want to play on a lottery team, adding a late 1st round pick in next year’s draft to their war chest.

PHI gets: Lou Williams
PHI gives: Mike Scott, Norvel Pelle, PHI 2021 1st (top 20 protected, rolls over to 2 2nds)
PHI rationale: The Sixers’ stars are still young, but they’ve been dysfunctional enough that another underwhelming season with a newly-hired, respected head coach would likely mean it’s time to go in a new direction. They’ll want to give themselves the best possible chance to succeed this year, and Williams is a player that Doc Rivers is familiar with who addresses a major need. If it works out, a pick in the 20s next year is a small price to pay. If it doesn’t, it’ll only cost them 2 2nds. The Sixers could try to haggle by just giving 2 2nds outright and not bothering with protecting the 1st, and it’s possible that deal gets done too.

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Lucas Hann
Lucas has covered the Clippers since 2011, and has been credentialed by the team since 2014. He co-founded 213Hoops with Robert Flom in January 2020. He is a graduate of Saugus

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