Chris Paul to LA

In the end, Chris Paul will play this NBA season in Los Angeles, but it won't be for the Lakers. Thursday afternoon Paul shocked the basketball nation when he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. Trade talk between the Clippers and Hornets started shortly after the Lakers deal for Paul was vetoed by the league. Talks between the Clippers and Hornets had seemed to die down earlier this week. For some reason, the trade was brought up again yesterday and the two teams finalized the deal today. The trade will send Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al Faruq Aminu, and Minnesota's first round pick to New Orleans in return for one of the most dynamic point guards in the league.

This trade is very good for the Clippers but they did lose a lot of their depth. Eric Gordon was a rising star as he had a fantastic season last year at the age of only 23. Aminu also rose up in his rookie season as a great man off the bench and Kaman was of course an all-star two years ago but, the Clippers realized landing Paul would bring excitement to the fan base and draw other free agents to come play with the team.

Now the question has been brought up, which LA team is better, the Lakers or the Clippers. The Lakers for so many years have dominated the city. Even though they play in the same arena, the Lakers have always had a gigantic fan base compared to the Clippers since the Clippers moved up from San Diego in 1984. As you compare the two starting lineups, the Clippers definitely look like a more dynamic team:
                       Lakers:                           Clippers:
Guard-           Derek Fisher                    Chris Paul
Guard-           Kobe Bryant                    Chauncey Billups
Forward-       Metta World Peace          Caron Butler
Forward-       Pau Gasol                        Blake Griffen
Center-          Andrew Bynum                Deandre Jordan

Whoever you think is better, the teams are definitely closer skill wise then they have ever been. This will bring new excitement to Los Angeles and it will be interesting to see if any Laker fans jump on the Clippers bandwagon.