Clippers acquire Chris Paul, send Eric Gordon to New Orleans [Updated]

The Clippers have agreed to acquire All-Star point guard Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets in a blockbuster deal that includes sending Eric Gordon to the Hornets, two people with knowledge of the situation who were not authorized to speak on the matter said Wednesday.

[UPDATED, 6:45 p.m.: The Clippers have officially confirmed the deal.]

The Clippers will send the Hornets Chris Kaman and his expiring $12.7-million contract, second-year forward Al-Farouq Aminu and the unprotected No. 1 draft pick the Clippers got from the Minnesota Timberwolves, both people said.

The Clippers will get Paul and two future second-round draft picks from the Hornets.

PHOTOS: Clippers land All-Star Chris Paul

The NBA, which operates the Hornets as team owner, was prepared to approve the deal Wednesday night, both people said.

The Clippers had been granted permission to talk Paul, and he informed them that he would pick up his option of $17.7 million for the 2012-13 season and might be interested in signing a contract extension after the trade, both people said.

Paul will earn $16.3 million this season.

The Clippers gave up a good young shooting guard in Gordon, but were able to keep second-year point guard Eric Bledsoe.

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-- Broderick Turner

Photo: Point guard Chris Paul. Credit: Derick E. Hingle / U.S. Presswire

NBA lockout 2011: Clipper Eric Gordon's plans

There was one trip to China and another overseas adventure looming, to Switzerland, later this month. In between those journeys was a trip to Memphis last week and a photo shoot for Adidas in Los Angeles this week.

You might say the NBA lockout has not slowed the Clippers’ Eric Gordon. Not in the least.

Gordon, the team’s star shooting guard, isn’t exactly camped out fulltime on his sofa this summer. In fact, the ramifications of the NBA labor situation aren’t quite real for him. He was working out Wednesday morning over at Loyola Marymount University,

“It really hasn’t sunk in,” Gordon said. “I don’t think it will sink in for everybody until they hit that September period where you’re like, ‘Man, we really don’t have to go back to where we need to go.’”

Gordon’s agent, influential dealmaker Rob Pelinka, is contemplating putting together a team to take part in a tour of China, possibly involving Kobe Bryant. Gordon thought that it “sounds like a good idea” but hasn’t spoken with Pelinka about any specifics of such a trip.

Clippers after deadline: Reaction after win over Oklahoma City

Friday, as it turned out, had a lot to do with Saturday.

The groundwork for the Clippers’ 30^th win as well as their biggest comeback of the season essentially started with a dismal performance in their loss at Phoenix on Friday night.

"It kind of rolled over, last night, us losing. The coaches were upset but a lot of the guys, including me, we were really upset," said Randy Foye after the Clippers beat the Thunder, 98-92, on Saturday night at Staples Center. "Last night we knew we just didn’t bring it. They beat us. It kind of carried over into the first half (tonight), the effort we gave last night.

"Coach [Vinny Del Negro] came in and let us know: We’ve got to go out there and be tough. Tougher in the second half. That’s how we’ve got to play, four quarters, not just one quarter."

Foye talked about the heated, intense game with the Thunder.

"The first half they kicked our butts and the second half we kicked their butts," he said.

Eric Gordon, whose late three-pointer put the Clippers ahead for good in the last minute, said that the negative tenor and the spate of technicals in the second half might have helped the team get going.

"For sure, when we play with a sense of urgency, we can play at that type of level all the time," he said. "It’s all about the players digging down and finding out who were are as a group and just go out there and play. We haven’t played with this type of fire in awhile."

How long? Gordon had no idea, a telling non-statement.

--Lisa Dillman

Photo: Clippers guard Eric Gordon is given a group hug by big men Craig Smith (1), DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin after hitting a key three-pointer in the final minute Saturday night at Staples Center. Credit: Mike Nelson / EPA

Clippers: Eric Gordon out at least seven to 10 days

Early indications were that shooting guard Eric Gordon would be out seven to 10 days, and the Clippers didn’t receive any new information on Monday to change that line of thinking.

Gordon, who aggravated the injury to his right wrist on Saturday in the second quarter against Denver, saw Dr. Steve Chin at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic on Monday. Previously, he had been examined by the Clippers’ team doctor, Steven Shimoyama.

Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro said before the team's game Monday in Charlotte that no new damage was discovered in the rounds of examinations and that Gordon would be re-evaluated in seven to 10 days.

Reports circulated on the Internet earlier Monday that Gordon, the team’s leading scorer, would be out for the rest of the season. Gordon first injured his wrist on Jan. 22 and missed 18 games. But the latest speculation appears to be premature. He won’t be with the Clippers on this five-game trip.

Del Negro was asked if he thought it might be better to shut Gordon down for the rest of the season. His contention was that it would be better to see what the Clippers could do on the court, with a full roster available, even for a brief period as a way to prepare for next season.

--Lisa Dillman, reporting from Charlotte

Photo: Nuggets center Timofey Mozgov knocks Clippers guard Eric Gordon out of the air on a driving layup Saturday night, leading to an aggravation of his injured right wrist. Credit: Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press

Clippers' Eric Gordon to miss three-to-four weeks with wrist injury

The Clippers' injury-plagued season took another wrong turn with the news Tuesday that star guard Eric Gordon could be out of the lineup for three to four more weeks.

Gordon, who was injured on Saturday against the Warriors, has a sprained right wrist and a small bone chip fracture, the Clippers said.

He was examined Tuesday in Los Angeles by Dr. Steve Chin of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic. Gordon did not travel with the team to Dallas for their game Tuesday against the Mavericks. 

The 22-year-old shooting guard was having his best season with the Clippers, averaging 24.1 points a game.

-Lisa Dillman

Clippers after deadline: Wrap from Portland

Blake Griffin was one of the last players to leave the locker room Thursday night in Portland, Ore., looking and sounding exhausted after the Clippers' 108-93 loss to the Trail Blazers.

Which begged the question: Was this the most tired he has been?

"Yeah, probably," he said. "I've been playing a lot of minutes both nights, and before that, Lakers and Indiana, back to back. Just got to make sure I do a good job of getting my rest."

Griffin, who played 44-plus minutes, spoke about teammate Eric Gordon's performance. Gordon scored 35 points, hitting a career-high seven three-pointers, one shy of the franchise record. And a day after tearing a ligament in his finger.

"He played great. He played out of his mind," Griffin said.

Gordon also had five rebounds and four assists. He was seven for 11 from three-point land and five of them came in the second half. The Clippers' record for three-pointers in a game is held by Quentin Richardson, who had eight against Boston on Feb. 4, 2004.

There was no repeat of the fireworks between Blazers point guard Andre Miller and Griffin. The last time the Clippers were in Portland, on Dec. 5, Miller went after Griffin and ended up receiving a one-game suspension the next day. It also halted Miller's consecutive games-played streak at 632, then the highest in the NBA.

A bitter Miller had plenty of things to say in the aftermath of the incident and suspension. But not to Griffin.

After Thursday's win, Miller was asked if he had spoken to Griffin since that game.

"That's NBA basketball," Miller said. "I think he understood."

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--Lisa Dillman

Photo: Clippers power forward Blake Griffin is fouled by Portland forward Nicolas Batum in the first half Thursday night at the Rose Garden. Credit: Steve Dykes / US Presswire

Clippers vs. Blazers: Eric Gordon ready to play in Portland

Just call Clippers guard Eric Gordon the King of Pain.

He tore a ligament in the ring finger of his right hand against Minnesota on Wednesday night but returned for the second half against the Timberwolves and managed to finish with 23 points.

"It's really sore right now," Gordon said on Thursday. "It hurts as much now as when I first hurt it."

That doesn't mean he considered skipping tonight's game here at Portland.

Not for a minute.

Gordon, who is averaging a team-high 23.8 points, was his usual stoic self and said he would play through it. Playing through it might mean anywhere from eight to 10 weeks before the injury heals, factoring in the possibility of re-aggravating it, said Clipper trainer Jasen Powell.

Although there have been comparisons made to Kobe Bryant's injury, Powell said the two injuries were not the same. "Kobe's was an avulsion fracture, where the tendon took off a part of the bone," he said.

--Lisa Dillman, reporting from Portland, Ore.

Photo: Clippers guard Eric Gordon, with the injured finger on his right hand taped, drives to the basket against Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love (42) in the second half Wednesday night. Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Eric Gordon saves the game for the Clippers

When the Sacramento Kings came back from a 17-point first half deficit, Eric Gordon was left baffled.

"I just didn't get it," he said. "We were so lackadaisical."

So he decided to take matters into his own hands.

After scoring only six points in the first half, Gordon finished with a game-high 29 points, including a three-pointer with the score tied at 91 and only 47.5 seconds remaining.

"I get tougher towards the second half," Gordon said. "Sometimes we lose focus in the second half, that's why I try to pick it up."

Gordon's late-night effort galvanized the Clippers, helping them snap a two-game losing streak with a  98-91 victory Monday at Staples Center.

Said Blake Griffin: "He was huge. We just played off of him."

Gordon said he was not about to let his team lose to the Kings, not considering the Clippers' next adversary.

"We play the Lakers Wednesday," Gordon said. "So we definitely needed this one."

--Melissa Rohlin

Photo: Clippers guard Eric Gordon gets down the lane for a dunk against the Kings on Monday night at Staples Center. Credit: Jae C. Hong / Associated Press

Eric Gordon: We were able to prove we could win the gold

Eric Gordon, the Clippers' shooting guard and a reserve on Team USA, has been a guest blogger for the Fabulous Forum during the FIBA World Championship tournament in Turkey. On Sunday, Kevin Durant led Team USA to an 81-64 victory over Turkey in the gold-medal game with 28 points. Gordon missed all five of his shots, including four three-pointers, but had two assists, one steal, one blocked shot and one rebound in 13 minutes of play. Here are Gordon’s impressions of the game and his FIBA experience:

I've never won a championship on this level, so this is big time for us. We came together for a short period of time, a month and a half, almost two months now, and our expectation was to win the gold. A lot of people back home and around the world didn’t think we could do it because we were a young and inexperienced team. But we were able to prove that we could win it because we played as a team and played really good defense the entire tournament.

Turkey has some really good shooters, so we couldn't let them have the shots they wanted. I didn't shoot the ball well, but I worked really hard on defense. The main thing about today was just to win. And  the thing that we do best is play really good defense. Throughout the whole way, it didn't matter if we struggled on offense, our half-court defense was really good.

To win the gold medal, we knew we had to break Turkey down at the guards. We didn’t let them have as many threes as they'd like to shoot or let them get off any shot they wanted.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski is a really good coach and motivator. He kept us together as a team and helped us adapt to the FIBA style of play. It's a different type of game than the NBA -- more physical and fast paced sometimes -- and Coach told us to keep adapting our game to the rules and we were able to do that.

Confidence-wise it helps a lot to win this tournament. You learn a lot of new and different things and it's been a really good learning experience for me.

I have two weeks before Clippers training camp. I'm feeling pretty confident about the upcoming season. It's a brand new start for us and I'm really anxious to see how we’re going to be this year. I worked a little bit with Blake Griffin and some of the players this summer before joining Team USA, but that was awhile ago. It's going to be good to get back and get into the flow of things.

-- Eric Gordon

Photo: U.S. guard Eric Gordon knocks the ball away from a driving Kerem Tunceri of Turkey in the FIBA World Championship gold-medal game Sunday. Credit: Jeff Haynes / Reuters

Eric Gordon: It's time to lay it on the line for the gold

Eric Gordon, the Clippers' shooting guard and a reserve on Team USA, is a guest blogger for the Fabulous Forum during the FIBA World Championship tournament in Turkey. On Saturday, Kevin Durant scored a U.S. record of 38 points in an 89-74 semifinal victory over Lithuania. Gordon finished with three points, four rebounds, one steal and one assist in 18 minutes of play, although he missed a breakaway dunk after making a steal. Team USA will play the winner of Serbia and Turkey on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Pacific time. Here are Gordon’s impressions of the game:

We're ready for the championship game. We're going to lay it on the line tomorrow and go for the gold medal. We're ready for the next game.

Against Lithuania we just weren't in the offensive flow that well. Defense has really helped us when we've struggled with our offense in the tournament and that's what we counted on Saturday. They knocked down some open three-pointers to kind of get back into the game in the third quarter, which is something we definitely didn't want them to do. But we eventually took them out of almost everything they wanted to do.

Kevin Durant is the type of player that can carry you because he's so hard to guard. He's the kind of guy that can give you a basket any which way. The other team has to have a guy that has some length and is athletic, or Kevin is going to continue to score.

I really don't know how I missed that dunk. I was high enough, but we've missed a lot of dunks over here. The rim seems to bounce more than we're used to. I'm going to continue to try to knock down the shots that come my way. I'm glad Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) shows confidence in me. I'm just here to keep on playing and staying solid. I'm mostly helping on the defensive end, trying to get steals and keep their guards from getting easy shots.

Now we just have to get back to the hotel and get our rest. Whomever we play tomorrow, we just have to be prepared. It's a late game (9:30 p.m. in Turkey), so we have enough time to prepare for them tomorrow. I'm sure we'll watch some film and get the scouting report and game plan like usual between 11 a.m. and noon.

Physically, I feel pretty good. It's not that bad. The games are a little bit shorter than an NBA game (40 minutes compared to 48), and although the FIBA style is more fast-paced and physical than an NBA game, it's not like we've been playing in these conditions for an NBA-length season. We've been preparing ourselves for the more physical style of play and you adjust to it as you keep on playing in that type of environment.

Whomever we play, each team will try to represent their country the best they can. If Turkey wins tonight, it'll definitely be the most hostile environment we've faced. It's a big gym and their fans just might get crazy. It'll be interesting to see what type of atmosphere and how tough a game it will be.

I've always wanted to be part of a USA team, to represent my country. I thought I might eventually make a team, but not this early in my career. I'm prepared to do what it takes to help the team win the gold.

-- Eric Gordon

Photo: U.S. guard Eric Gordon looks to pass after driving against Lithuania in Saturday's FIBA World Championship semifinal game in Istanbul. Credit: Mustafa Ozer / AFP / Getty Images

Eric Gordon: Team USA beats Russia, advances to semifinals

Eric Gordon, the Clippers' shooting guard and a reserve on Team USA, is a guest blogger for the Fabulous Forum during the FIBA World Championship tournament. On Thursday, the USA beat Russia, 89-79. Gordon scored six points, got two rebounds, one assist and a steal in 14 minutes of play. Team USA will play Lithuania in the semifinals Saturday. Here are Gordon’s impressions of the game, plus some other tidbits from the day:

Russia played really hard against us early and forced us into a lot of tough shots. We got off to a slow start and weren’t making shots like we normally would, and they were making shots from everywhere.

Their center, Timofey Mozgov, who was signed by the Knicks, is pretty good, and Russia’s guard play was really good.

But we had a spurt. We just made some good baskets late in the third and early in the fourth.

I played decently. I didn’t make any spectacular numbers, but I think I was solid.

It was really loud Thursday at the arena. Usually our games are not as packed, but we kind of like playing in front of crowds like that; there were 10,000-plus here. The ball we’re using in this tournament also feels a little lighter, just a little, than an NBA ball.