The trade sending Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers made seismic waves on the NBA horizon after a week-long fiasco of pushing and pulling among the New Orleans Hornets, the NBA brass, and both LA teams. Although the Laker Gold and Purple faithful hung its collective head at the killed trade proposal that would’ve paired their five-time champion Kobe Bryant with the best point guard in the game, their Staples Center roommates went ‘all-in’ for the CP3 pot, despite knowing fully that their expensive acquisition may skip town come June 2012. While the shift of power between the two NBA conference remain the same, a deep civil war rivalry is a-brewin’ in Los Angeles because the Clippers, once the laughing-stock of the NBA, have grown up and matured quite well and have become a serious contender for the 2012 Championship thanks to the blockbuster trade as well as the key acquisitions of Caron Butler and retaining of DeAndre Jordan.
Today, the Los Angeles Clippers welcomed its newest team member to its facilities via Twitter, catching CP3 walking through the doors of the Clippers practice facility while wearing the Air Jordan XI ‘Concord’. It appears that all of Nike and Jordan Brand’s major stars are aligning in the biggest metropolitan cities (not necessarily planned, of course), but Paul, like Dwight Howard, selected the Clippers for a reason; the Clippers have a solid young roster with an up-and-coming coach, and prior to the trade, were just one piece away from becoming perennial Playoff participants. Does the Chris Paul trade send them over the top? Tell us your thoughts after the jump and checking out CP3 in his Concords, and let us know if the new Blue/Red/White theme will bring some energy to the Jordan CP3 signature line.