The Houston Rockets have reached an agreement on a trade for LA Clippers All-Star point guard Chris Paul, sources told ESPN.
The Rockets will send Sam Dekker, Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams and a top-three protected 2018 first-round pick to the Clippers in exchange for Paul.
Paul had been planning to decline the player option on his contract and wanted to play with Rockets All-Star James Harden, according to The Vertical, which first reported the trade.
Paul met with the Clippers on Tuesday and didn’t like what he heard from the team, sources say. He informed them Tuesday night that he planned to leave in free agency if he declined his option.
The Clippers were determined get something for Paul rather than lose him for nothing, sources told ESPN, so Paul instead agreed to opt in for the final year of his contract (worth $24.2 million) to facilitate the trade.
The Rockets, needing to make another move to make the financials work before they can officially acquire Paul, are telling teams that they’ve assembled the needed pieces and the trade is headed to the league office for approval, sources told ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
The Atlanta Hawks announced Wednesday afternoon they had sent forward Ryan Kelly to the Rockets in exchange for cash considerations.
Once the trade for Paul is official, Houston will try to acquire All-Star Paul George from the Indiana Pacers, sources told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.