As Clippers Sell Out Season Tickets After Paul Trade, Lakers Prepare To Move On From Rejection

With G Chris Paul "added to the roster the Clippers sold out their season tickets" on Thursday, according to Tom Weir of USA TODAY. A note at the "bottom of the Clippers' home schedule on the team website says 'SOLD OUT,' although it does not say how many seats were purchased." After decades of "second-tier status, Paul has instantly made the Clippers relevant in Los Angeles" (USATODAY.com, 12/15). Clippers VP/Basketball Operations Neil Olshey said the Paul trade "sends a message to the rest of the league. If a player like Chris Paul ... chooses to make a long-term commitment to our organization, then there's nothing we won't do in terms of our resources to put around him" (USA TODAY, 12/16). Paul said, "I want to see those Clippers T-shirts around town. I want to see everybody filing into the Staples Center to see us play" (L.A. TIMES, 12/16). ESPN’s Ric Bucher noted the Clippers have never had a pair of teammates like Paul and F Blake Griffin, and the combo "puts that franchise in a place that they have never been before." The team is "arguably the talk of the town in a major market like Los Angeles." Bucher: "They’ve never come close to this." ESPN's Shelley Smith said, "As for Clippers Owner Donald Sterling, who has long wanted to be the king of Los Angeles, right now he pretty much is” ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 12/15).

FRUSTRATION NATION: In L.A., Bill Plaschke notes at the Lakers training camp, players "were still grumbling over NBA Commissioner David Stern's refusal to approve their initial trade for Paul, a decision which has sent one of basketball's most careful and composed organizations into a dizzying tailspin." Lakers G Kobe Bryant said Thursday, "I'm not sure what the hell is the direction, to be honest with you. ... I've never quite seen something like this unfold. It's become somewhat of a mess." Plaschke notes he told Bryant "many fans now feel the Clippers are more exciting than the Lakers." Bryant shrugged and said, "I agree" (L.A. TIMES, 12/16). ESPN L.A.'s Stephen A. Smith wrote the Lakers are "far from perfect these days, primarily because of" Exec VP/Player Personnel and Alternate Governor Jim Buss. But because "he's not about to go anywhere, neither are the Lakers." It is Buss "who's anxious to eradicate any semblance of the Phil Jackson era just to cement his own imprints." It is also Buss "who hired [coach] Mike Brown without consulting Kobe first." An Eastern Conference exec said, "Nobody can blame Buss and the Lakers for thinking about their future. We get it. But what you want to avoid doing is alienating the players you need now. You need Kobe now. You need Gasol now" (ESPNLA.com, 12/15).