The two top players available on this year's free agent market have interest in teaming up and playing together, according to ESPN.com's Chris Broussard. Broussard reports that Chris Paul and Dwight Howard have been "texting back and forth" to try to figure something out.
Considering first-year salaries in maximum contracts for Paul and Howard would combine to total $39MM+, there likely won't be many teams that would be able to accommodate both players, barring a significant discount on one or both. However, the Hawks may be able to clear the necessary room to make max offers to both players, while a handful of other teams, including the Rockets, could use sign-and-trades to make space.
According to Broussard, although Howard has previously been averse to the idea of playing in his hometown of Atlanta, he'd be open to considering it if it meant playing with Paul. However, Broussard adds that CP3 is unlikely to leave Los Angeles, making the Clippers the preferred destination for the two stars if they're to become teammates.
The Clippers could theoretically bring Howard aboard via a sign-and-trade, though it's hard to imagine the Lakers agreeing to such a deal with their Staples Center cohabitants, as Broussard writes. The same goes for the Clippers sending Paul to the Lakers, a task that would be even more difficult, given the Lakers' payroll situation. Teams acquiring a player in a sign-and-trade aren't permitted to surpass the tax apron (expected to be about $75.6MM) at any point after the deal — max contracts for CP3 and D12 would make it virtually impossible for the Lakers to get under that apron.
A deal that lands both players on the Clippers wouldn't be quite as challenging, but as Broussard notes, for the Lakers to seriously consider it, it would likely take an offer that includes Blake Griffin and perhaps Eric Bledsoe as well. A blockbuster trade like that between the two Los Angeles teams seems a bit outlandish to me, but if Howard was set on joining Paul with the Clippers, the Lakers certainly wouldn't find a better return than a Griffin/Bledsoe package.
I don’t believe anything that Chris Broussard have to say
to me I thaught this is why we made a cap to keep teams from getting more than 1 big time all star at a time, no matter where the city or what the the cap wise that why they made rules… so we can just go around each year and sign and trade if we want and have the same old team get there cake and eat it too?
If I’m Dwight, I still go to Houston…If I’m Chris Paul, I get away from Blake Griffin somehow. Blake Griffin is a B**** and i dont see him winning with that team, simply b/c you can go at him and Blake will back down. That offense also relies WAY too much on Chris Paul. He shouldnt have to score and set guys up for his team to win. He should only have to be an 18-10 guy. If Griffin were to improve his jumpshot and get a couple of post moves, that would make things different, but he loves dunking so much, that the doesnt think about actually working on a basketball game like Deandre Jordan did last offseason
To me, they are idiots if they don’t go to Houston to team up with Harden. That’s automatically the best team in the NBA … Paul-Harden-Parsons-PF-Howard
i wouldnt mind having a starting five of bryant,nash,worldpeace,griffin,and gasol and bledsoe coming off the bench for nash when bryant is healthy.while hes out steve blake could start for kobe or bledsoe could start in kobes place.