Clippers’ Lawrence Frank Directly Addresses Chris Paul Rumors

The LA Clippers have officially announced the signing of three-time NBA All-Star Bradley Beal. He is expected to occupy the starting shooting guard position that was recently vacated when LA dealt Norman Powell to the Miami Heat.

Beal joining the Clippers had been considered an inevitability for weeks. Almost all the reporting pointed to this deal eventually getting done, and many close to the team were preparing for his arrival.

That same dynamic is now taking place with Chris Paul. The 12-time All-Star and Clippers franchise legend is widely expected to rejoin his former team for a 21st and final NBA season.

Amid several reports linking Paul to a Clippers reunion, the sense around Summer League this past week was that his return to LA is inevitable. While in Las Vegas, I spoke with sources close to Paul and his former franchise who indicated strong belief that his final season will be played for the Clippers.

In these same conversations, I sought to uncover what the expectation should be for his role on the team — and why both sides feel comfortable in a reunion given the Clippers’ current roster construction.

When it was reported earlier this month by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press that Paul still wants to be a starter, many felt that eliminated the Clippers as a potential destination. And understandably so. Even before signing Beal, the Clippers had James Harden locked into the starting point guard spot and no reasonable pathway to fitting Paul alongside him in the first five.

However, while Paul still believes he is starter-caliber after starting all 82 games for the San Antonio Spurs last season, multiple sources have expressed doubt that such a desire would be a dealbreaker in an otherwise great fit for him with the Clippers.

In the same interview with Jemele Hill when he announced this upcoming season would be his last in the NBA, Paul reiterated his desire to play close to Los Angeles where his family still lives. The Clippers would give him the opportunity to do that while being on a team that should win a lot of games.

And while he will not be starting in LA, the pathway to an important role on the Clippers does exist for Paul — just not without some legitimate questions. The most prominent being where his minutes will come in a rotation that already projects to be 10-deep when fully-healthy.

This past week I received a collection of answers when inquiring about this with sources familiar with the thinking of both Lawrence Frank and Ty Lue. To summarize, four major themes emerged on why the Clippers believe Paul holds real on-court value despite what looks to be a crowded rotation:

1. James Harden preservation
2. Second unit creation
3. Lineup optionality
4. Overall insurance

Frank spoke to reporters on Saturday afternoon, saying the Clippers are “strongly considering” Paul for what will likely be their final signing of the NBA offseason. When asked where a player like Paul would fit in a guard rotation that already includes James Harden, Bradley Beal, Kris Dunn, and Bogdan Bogdanovic, Frank had a detailed answer.

“Role awareness, especially in this next roster spot, will be critical,” he said. “When you look at it, you have 10 quality rotation players right now… We typically play nine. What we’ve seen is the problem of potentially having too many guys and how that can impact the team. So we’ve learned from those lessons and I think the conversations that we have with anyone who is going to join the Clippers next — they understand it’s a reserve role. They understand going into camp exactly what it looks like. So there is no preconceived misconceptions.”

From these comments, it is clear the Clippers see a direct pathway to Paul providing real on-court value if he were to join, yet also feel confident he is the type of person to fully buy-in even if his role is smaller than what he has been used to.

“You just want to put everything on the table and then find the best person who can have total role acceptance and awareness — and still if needed to play, can play,” Frank said.

Frank added the team has a responsibility to take care of Harden, who played nearly 2,800 minutes last season at 35 years old, which was the sixth-most in his 16-year NBA career. He also explained the importance of having trusted depth given how infrequently NBA teams have their roster fully-healthy.

As for lineup versatility and optionality, Frank expressed a lot of excitement for what Lue will have to work with next season. The Clippers feel — especially if they add Paul — that this team has the ability to take on many different forms. All of which will be angled toward beating that night’s opponent.

Heading into the offseason, Frank said the Clippers wanted to add more frontcourt depth, shooting, and playmaking. After the additions of John Collins and Brook Lopez, he felt the frontcourt box had been checked. Beal then filled a need for more shooting and scoring. Now, with one more roster spot the Clippers plan to fill, Frank admitted the team still wants to add “playmaking and ball handling.”

The Clippers want Paul to fill that need, and the expectation is that he will choose to do so in his final NBA season.