Wed, Dec 14, 2011 at 11:00pm

CHRIS PAUL NOW A CLIPPER

The Los Angeles Clippers acquired point guard Chris Paul and two 2015 second-round picks from the New Orleans Hornets for combo guard Eric Gordon, center Chris Kaman, forward Al-Farouq Aminu, and a 2012 first-round pick.

What does it give the Los Angeles Clippers
The Clips got the top player in this deal so they have to be happy. Paul is arguably the NBA's best pure point guard (when healthy) and he'll immediately make them a contender along with rising phenom Blake Griffin. Expect alley-opps by the boatload, and expect a nice playoff run by the long-maligned Clippers. They gave up an awful lot here to get a player with durability issues, but L.A. seems intent on winning--which isn't a bad thing considering their lengthy history of futility. Look for Mo Williams to see a lot more time at shooting guard now.

What does it give the New Orleans Pelicans
While losing Paul obviously hurts this franchise in the short term it's hard not to like this deal for the over the long haul. In Gordon alone, New Orleans is getting a rising star who may ultimately end up being more productive than Paul; he's an elite NBA scorer already, he's younger than Paul and he can even play some point guard. Add in Kaman (a star center when healthy and on his game) and Aminu (who has the talent to eventually become an NBA star) and this is a great exchange for the Hornets. Then kick in the first-round pick, and a strong argument can be made that they got a steal for a player who didn't want to be on their team anymore. Look for Gordon to start right away, with Kaman potentially pushing Emeka Okafor to the 4-spot and Aminu in the mix at small forward.

Fantasy impact