After being traded to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, reports have surfaced that the LA Clippers never offered Chris Paul a five-year maximum contract.
The biggest advantage for the LA Clippers in the CP3 sweepstakes was their unique super-max contract. Only the LA Clippers could offer Chris Paul the maximum contract of $201 million for five years. Reports confirm that the Clippers never offered Chris the full maximum deal.
Big Detail: The Clippers had not yet committed to give Chris Paul the full five-year max contract of $201 million.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) June 28, 2017
While the Clippers held that advantage, Houston had one of their own. Texas as a state has a tax advantage where there is no state income tax. Therefore, Chris Paul bolting to the Rockets still nets him a big pay-day without a large chunk being taxed.
There was still strong internal debate on whether the team should pay $45 million in the final year of a deal to a 37-year-old player.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) June 28, 2017
The Clippers were hesitant on Chris earning an entire $45 million in his last year of the contract. At 37 years old, he may very well be out of his prime. LA unwilling to give Chris that much money in the last year of the deal forced the two to part ways and agree to the deal with Houston.
Official details to trade include: Patrick Beverley, Sam Dekker, Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell and a few other players, along with a protected first round draft pick next year.
Now, all attention is onto Blake Griffin in the Clippers front office.
Blake actually has the power to either save or majorly break and rebuild the LA Clippers. One thing is for certain, Los Angeles will not hesitate on offering the maximum contract this time around.
Keep checking back here at Clipperholics for all your news and updates and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.