This can be a basketball story. However I’ve to start out with hip-hop.
You see, a brand new album can serve a variety of areas, even when it’s from an older performer. New work can have you recalling previous brilliance whereas proving they will nonetheless get it finished.
Clipse, a hip-hop duo from Virginia fashioned by brothers Pusha T and Malice, reunited and put out its first album in 16 years with the discharge of “Let God Type Em Out” this month. It was produced by Pharrell Williams, who, together with The Neptunes, helped produce Clipse’s first three albums, beginning with “Lord Willin’” again in 2002.
Previous conflicts needed to be resolved for this album to occur. Previous love for the sport needed to be replenished. Themes of appreciation, having no regrets, and giving flowers whereas they will nonetheless scent them have been explored.
Additionally, the brothers can rap. And so they in flip maintain the artwork of rap accountable. So be it, so be it.
Let me transition from Clipse to Clips. As within the LA Clippers, a crew that added future Corridor of Fame level guard Chris Paul to a gaggle that already had seven gamers over 30. Paul turned 40 in Might and is about to play his twenty first NBA season. And as Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank put it, Paul will slot in as a top quality “reserve level guard” with a transparent understanding of his function.
This can be a full circle second for Paul and the Clippers. LA first acquired him in 2011, on the finish of a fourth straight season of at the very least 50 losses. When LA traded former lottery picks Chris Kaman (2003), Eric Gordon (2008) and Al-Farouq Aminu (2010) together with a future first-round decide that grew to become Austin Rivers to the New Orleans Hornets for Paul, the Clippers had a complete of six successful seasons in 41 years as an NBA franchise. They’d by no means received 60 % of their video games earlier than 2011.
The Clippers received at the very least 60 % of their video games in all of Paul’s six seasons with the franchise. He had an notorious run, however when it was over in 2017, he might have opted out of the ultimate yr of his contract and entered unrestricted free company. As a substitute, he opted in, initiating a commerce to affix James Harden and the Houston Rockets. That 2017 commerce netted the Clippers Lou Williams, Patrick Beverley and Montrezl Harrell. And as Frank famous, the Clippers are nonetheless benefitting from that commerce when you think about subsequent trades, proper all the way down to the acquisition of John Collins this summer season. LA has the league’s longest lively streak of successful seasons at 14, and that’s largely doable due to Paul.
📰 @TheAthletic
Chris Paul reunites with the LA Clippers, years after the unique CP3 commerce that set the franchise on a maiden course in direction of successful and one other CP3 commerce that also advantages the Clippers to this very day pic.twitter.com/PrLwawKs30
— Legislation Murray 🎡 (@LawMurrayTheNU) July 21, 2025
“When Chris exited, we labored collectively,” Frank stated. “When he determined to go to Houston, Chris helped us within the sense of turning it right into a sign-and-trade, and it actually helped us transition. I imply clearly, Chris had nice historical past, nice six years with us. Being an All-Star annually, All-NBA 5 of these six years, making the playoffs every of these years. And but the flexibility to get the return we obtained from Houston helped us get to the place we’re at now.”
So why do the Clippers want Chris Paul? It begins with the basketball. No, actually, the precise basketball. I wrote three weeks in the past about how Paul is sensible as a participant who has at all times valued taking good care of the basketball. The Clippers have been twenty third within the NBA final season in turnover share and assist-turnover ratio. Paul completed eighth within the NBA in assists per recreation with 7.4 and averaged just one.6 turnovers. That’s an assist-turnover ratio of 4.69, which trailed solely Tyrese Haliburton (5.61) and Tyus Jones (4.71) among the many 253 gamers who appeared in at the very least 20 video games and performed at the very least 20 minutes per recreation final season. Examine that with Harden, who had an assist-turnover ratio of two.01, which ranked 106th.
When Paul, who began all 82 video games for the San Antonio Spurs final season, was on the ground, 13 % of the Spurs’ possessions resulted in a turnover, which is the equal to a crew rating third within the NBA. When Paul was off the ground, the Spurs had a turnover share of 14.5, which is the equal to a crew rating 18th.
“We all know that ballhandling was a little bit little bit of a problem for us final yr,” Frank stated. “Ballhandling and playmaking have been areas we needed to handle this offseason. After we have been at our greatest, we have been taking good care of the ball. And Chris takes care of the ball and runs an offense about in addition to anybody who’s ever finished it.”
Paul is the Level God. He offers self-discipline. He offers construction. When Paul will get level/help double-doubles, he can do it and not using a turnover, one thing he’s finished 45 instances (13 greater than John Stockton, who’s subsequent on that record, per Stathead).
As Damian Lillard was reintroduced by the Portland Path Blazers this week, Portland head coach and former Paul Clippers teammate Chauncey Billups stated that Lillard is “going to be the very best paid assistant coach in league historical past.” Paul may as nicely be the second-highest paid assistant coach. Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue actually might use another person to yell at Harden as a substitute of Harden averaging the third-most turnovers within the league once more. And although Paul and Harden didn’t finish issues nicely in Houston after two seasons, Harden performed a job in Paul’s return to LA, together with Leonard.
“James has been an enormous a part of this offseason,” stated Frank. “When speaking to James, speaking to Kawhi, and we talked concerning the function … each guys stated CP could be the very best man for this function. James is all about successful and clearly Chris and him performed collectively in Houston. They obtained inside a recreation of the NBA Finals in 2018. What James talked about with Chris was his capacity to see the ground like few others, the management expertise he brings, the competitiveness, and his on a regular basis work ethic and method.”
Chris Paul wants the Clippers. He’s been in 5 cities over these final eight years. The Clipper fan base, one which has been handled to arguably essentially the most ahistorical franchise within the league, will get to have a good time Paul as soon as once more. And Paul’s first tenure with the Clippers confirmed him what it means to have star gamers come to the Clippers close to or on the finish of their careers — Billups, Lamar Odom, Grant Hill, Antawn Jamison, Danny Granger and Hedo Turkoglu spent their last or penultimate season with the Clippers. Similar to Malice has been each Mason Bethas, Chris Paul has been each Paul Pierces now: he was a famous person now within the twilight of his profession with the Clippers.
Paul replaces Patty Mills, who changed the disgruntled PJ Tucker in February. The distinction between Mills and Tucker was placing. Tucker didn’t wish to be on the crew and, after he opted into $11 million final summer season, LA management determined to maintain him away from the crew till he was traded. When Mills arrived, he was in a position to contribute positively to the Clippers locker room, even serving because the director of vibes.
The Clippers aren’t an entire lot older than final yr’s crew. Bradley Beal is a month youthful than Norman Powell, John Collins is three months youthful than Amir Coffey and rookies Yanic Konan Niederhäuser and Kobe Sanders substitute Drew Eubanks and Seth Lundy, respectively. Brook Lopez, 37, replaces Ben Simmons, 29. However Paul, Collins, and Lopez substitute three gamers (Mills, Coffey, Simmons) who’re nonetheless unsigned at this level of free company, they usually could also be reserves on the Clippers after being starters for his or her groups final season.
The Clippers getting older with Paul and Lopez belies the truth that the Clippers at the moment are Pacific Ocean’s Eleven: a gaggle of established gamers who have been productive final season and who might help maintain one another’s minutes and workload down within the uncommon situations the place the crew is absolutely wholesome. Lue has a deeper, extra versatile roster at his disposal. Paul and Lopez, particularly, symbolize gamers (a standard backup level guard and middle) the Clippers didn’t have final season, particularly within the playoffs in opposition to Denver.
LA Clippers offseason, up to date…
Noah’s ark, at the very least two of all they want pic.twitter.com/tUWgNJ1x3Y
— Legislation Murray 🎡 (@LawMurrayTheNU) July 21, 2025
“Everybody’s entitled by way of the judgments they wish to make on the group,” Frank stated. “We’re tremendous excited concerning the group, and I believe a part of the factor with age that sometimes folks fear about (is) elevated probability for damage. That’s why we lean into the depth. … The character of any NBA crew, not to mention an older one, is that you might have extra accidents than others. Now a few of our older guys have been very, very sturdy, so knock on wooden. Hopefully that maintains. But when not, we do have nice religion within the roster and having depth throughout the board.
Lue might want to fastidiously handle his rotation’s minutes, however Paul, Nicolas Batum and Lopez ought to play the least whereas LA hopes Leonard, Beal, Collins and Bogdan Bogdanović are more healthy (none of them performed 60 video games in 2024-25).
The participant who wants essentially the most administration, and the one Paul was introduced right here for as insurance coverage, is Harden. He performed 2,789 minutes within the common season at age 35 and he was an All-Star and an All-NBA choice. That’s solely the thirty fourth season in NBA historical past by a participant who performed at the very least 2,700 minutes at age 35 or older.
The one gamers who adopted up a season with that type of workload at that age and made an All-Star look the next season are Corridor of Famers Wilt Chamberlain (1973 Lakers), John Havlicek (1978 Celtics), Artis Gilmore (1986 Spurs), Robert Parish (1990 Celtics), Karl Malone (2001 and 2002 Jazz), Jason Kidd (2010 Mavericks) and future Corridor of Famer Kevin Durant (2025 Suns). None of these gamers have been guards accountable for each scoring and first playmaking.
With Paul, the Clippers have eight gamers who’re older than 30. Can an previous crew win all of it? Actually. The 1998 Bulls have been led by Michael Jordan, who started the Final Dance on the identical age (34) that Leonard shall be subsequent season. Jordan was joined by two different starters older than 30 (Scottie Pippen, Ron Harper) and 5 reserves who have been 30 or older by the tip of June 1998 (Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr, Invoice Wennington, Randy Brown, Jud Buechler).
The 2011 Mavericks have been led by 32-year-old Dirk Nowitzki, who was joined within the beginning lineup by 4 different 30-plus starters (Kidd, Shawn Marion and DeShawn Stevenson). That Dallas crew had 4 reserves on the playoff roster older than 30 (Jason Terry, Peja Stojakovic, Brendan Haywood, Brian Cardinal), and that didn’t embody injured 31-year-old Caron Butler, who was the second-leading scorer within the beginning lineup when his season resulted in January as a consequence of a knee damage.
The 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers, coached by Lue, have been led by 31-year-old LeBron James, who was joined within the beginning lineup by 30-year-old JR Smith. Cleveland’s bench within the playoffs had seven gamers 30 or older (Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye, Timofey Mozgov, Mo Williams, James Jones, Dahntay Jones, Sasha Kaun).
None of those groups are good correlations. Each crew is making an attempt to win a championship. They’re all flawed, even the crew that received it final yr and can win it this yr. If the Clippers signed current first-round picks to fill out the roster (like they did final yr with Kevin Porter Jr. and Mo Bamba) as a substitute of older and higher gamers like Paul and Lopez, then they might be criticized for not giving themselves the very best alternative to win.
Frank put the roster collectively and he’s going to let Lue type them out. Paul is right here to be part of the puzzle, and it’s a smaller half than he’s used to. Paul has seen all of it, and he’s about to see The Wall. However the Clips aren’t simply right here to gather veterans and have candy moments. They’re making an attempt to place the very best product on the market and win. And so is Paul.
“There’s the heartstrings a part of it, of somebody who was such a major a part of the Clippers’ rise, to have the ability to deliver it again,” stated Frank. “Whether or not that is his final yr or not, that’s clearly Chris’s story by way of what he feels and what he desires. However I believe primary is his capacity to assist affect successful. After which the secondary was somebody who’s been so necessary to the franchise, to have the ability to deliver him again within the fold.”
Chris Paul and Damian Lillard are going again to their previous groups. Let’s speak about another well-known reunions.
(Picture of Chris Paul waving: Michael Gonzales / NBAE by way of Getty Pictures)
