Chris Paul Photos

All that's left now for the Clippers is to convince Chris Paul they are truly committed to going the distance to win a championship, hire a new coach, sooth the feelings of young center DeAndre Jordan and make up with Blake Griffin, who was all but offered up to the Lakers on a silver platter for Dwight Howard.

Three days in Mexico and I return home to learn the Clippers are on the verge of bagging arguably the best coach in the NBA, a future Hall of Famer with enough juice in his legs to assist Chris Paul and Blake Griffin in a title run and also bring home one of the greatest players ever produced by Los Angeles.

In recognition of Father's Day, here's the "Father Stats" on the NBA's biggest name free agents. Dwight Howard: 1Chris Paul: 2 The center of attention in the NBA shifted in the last twenty-four hours to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers are rumored to be involved in a 32 team trade sending every player and coach in the NBA to the Clippers' side of the Staples Center. Ok, that's not true. But, the Clippers did throw a day-long wrinkle in the pursuit of Dwight Howard and/or Chris Paul. This is good news: The Houston Rockets want every non-Rockets scenario to rise and collapse before...

On Friday, Andre Iguodala opted out of the final year of his current contract, leaving nearly $16M on the table to pursue another big pay day. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Pistons are one of several teams who are interested in signing the Denver swingman: After superstars Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, Iguodala will be a target for several teams, including the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons and New Orleans Pelicans, league sources said. The interest in Iguodala is not insensible. He's a gifted playmake...

There's been plenty of Dwight talk over the last 72 hours. Rockets fans, no matter what decision Dwight Howard makes, feel lucky. Magic fans absorbed years of Dwight's indecision and platitudes. We may only need to wait two weeks. Free agents can sign on July 1st. That being said, here's your weekend Dwight update: Dwight Howard & Chris Paul: In Cahoots! ESPN's Chris Broussard has anonymous sources saying Dwight Howard and Chris Paul are considering teaming up. The article makes no mention of Houston. It hints Dwight would prefer Atlanta and Chris Paul would prefer the Los Angeles...

As if this wasn't complicated enough. Hold onto your hats folks. Sources: CP3 & D12 hope to team up next season. Have been texting back & forth to figure it out. Story up soon on http://t.co/IRyv1niwQm — Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) June 14, 2013 Dwight Howard, Chris Paul want to team up in free agency, according to report - SBNation.com The Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers hold the respective Bird Rights to Paul and Howard, which means they can offer significantly more money and more years on a new max contract than any other NBA team, but neither fr...

Chris Broussard reports that Chris Paul and Dwight Howard have been in touch with each other and want to join forces next season. Sources: CP3 & D12 hope to team up next season. Have been texting back & forth to figure it out. Story up soon on http://t.co/IRyv1niwQm — Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) June 14, 2013 On the surface this report needs to be taken at face value and this report has already been rumored earlier this summer. Still if you are the Atlanta Hawks and are capable of clearing out all but $18 million in cap space, then this is the home run ball that you ...

For those wondering if the Atlanta Hawks could sign both Dwight Howard and Chris Paul to max contracts this summer the answer is yes but it would take a little work on their part as outlined by ESPN.com's Kevin Pelton. According to Pelton, the Hawks would have to trade Lou Williams and last year's first round pick John Jenkins or one of this year's first round picks without taking back any salary in return. We have already discussed a situation where Atlanta could take a European player from Europe like Giannis Antetokounmpo and sending a signed letter to the league indicating that he ...

ESPN.com is reporting that Dwight Howard and Chris Paul are in talks of trying to team up together because of course they are. From Chris Broussard: The Atlanta Hawks could make it happen. Atlanta, which is Howard's hometown, has the cap room to sign both players to maximum-salaried contracts. Howard is not particularly fond of the idea of returning to Atlanta, but he would do so to team up with Paul, the sources said. But Paul, despite recently being upset with the Clippers over the perception that he got coach Vinny Del Negro fired, is unlikely to leave Los Angeles, one source said....

Free agency begins July 1, but Dwight Howard and Chris Paul may already be preparing their plans to play together. The two have been in "consistent contact" as they discuss playing together, according to a report from ESPN's Chris Broussard. Paul and Howard are expected to dominate the free agency landscape this Summer as both players will become unrestricted free agents in less than three weeks. Howard has made it clear he will look at all of his free agency options while Paul has been silent since the Los Angeles Clippers were eliminated by the Memphis Grizzlies. More on Howard and...

So here is what Broussard is reporting: Chris Paul and Dwight Howard have been in consistent contact recently about the possibility of becoming teammates next season, according to league sources. Paul and Howard will be the biggest free agents on the market this summer, and their desire is to play together, the sources said. "They would love to play together if somebody can make it happen," one of the sources said. The Atlanta Hawks could make it happen. Atlanta, which is Howard's hometown, has the cap room to sign both players to maximum-salaried contracts. Howard is not particularly...

So the big news today, if you happen to get your sports news from ESPN like oh so many people, is that the two biggest free agents of the summer, Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers and Dwight Howard of the Los Angeles Lakers want to play together next season. The cover story on ESPN's NBA page has pictures of Howard and Paul side-by-side over the headline "Get It Together? Will this year's marquee free agents team up, too? D12 and CP3 like the idea, according to sources." The sidebar has the teaser headline "Sources: Paul, Howard aim to be teammates." So wow, if you want to belie...

Almost as soon as the lottery ended, speculation began that the Mavs were looking to move out of the first round. The logic is simple. Sitting at No. 13, Dallas appears locked out of the top-tier of a draft that isn't considered particularly strong. And with the team set to pursue Chris Paul and Dwight Howard in free agency, every bit of extra cap space helps. However, as great as a second star would be, pursuing one has become the Mavs white whale. Once again, the organization is putting the cart before the horse. A year ago at this time, Deron Williams was their top priority. As a na...

The Kings were one of three teams fined by the league Tuesday for statements, remarks, conduct, etc., that could be construed as "tampering" with a player who is currently under contract. Michael Malone talks to reporters after a news conference where he was named the new head coach of the Sacramento Kings basketball team by new Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, in Sacramento, Calif., Monday, June 3, 2013. Malone, who was an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors, is replacing Keith Smart who was fired last week.(AP Photo/ Rich Pedroncelli)

Yesterday a report from USA Today indicated that three teams were fined by the NBA for violating the league's tampering policy. Only the Atlanta Hawks were confirmed to be one of those teams. Today, Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt have confirmed that our very own Sacramento Kings were among the three teams fined along with the Houston Rockets. Sacramento's fine came due to new Head Coach Michael Malone's comments during his introductory press conference about Free Agent Chris Paul. Per Cowbell Kingdom's Jon Santiago, here is what Malone said about Paul: “Obviously, Chris would look pret...