Stop us if you’ve heard this before: Chris Paul has been traded to Los Angeles. The obnoxious, conspiracy-inspiring saga of Chris Paul appears to be reaching a close, as the Los Angeles Clippers reportedly have reached an agreement for Paul and a couple of second-rounders in exchange for sending Eric Gordon, Chris Kamen, Al-Forouq Aminu and Minnesota’s first-round pick in 2012 to the Big Easy*.

The trade looks slightly different than a trade proposed over the weekend, one that included young Clippers point guard Eric Bledsoe getting thrown into the pot. Still, Bledsoe or no Bledsoe, you have to tip your hat to the Hornets on this one. Chris Kamen is more than serviceable, Al-Forouq Aminu has the athletic skills to be a two-way star (seriously) and Eric Gordon is already the best young shooting guard in the league. Toss is that first-rounder, which, if the T’Wolves play like the T’Wolves, could be a top five pick in a deep draft, and the Hornets came away with a consolation prize that has to be considered better than what Denver got for Carmelo Anthony.

As the Hornets look to the future, Clippers fans can rest assured that a Blake Griffin-Chris Paul connection will be as relevant as any one-two punch the league currently has to offer. Of course, there’s a “but.” Concerns about Paul’s knee and his desire to remain under Donald Sterling’s control are going to follow him from here on out. As it stands, the Clippers will be sending out a starting five of Paul, Randy Foye (unless they can nab Jamal Crawford), Caron Butler, Griffin and DeAndre Jordan (if they resign him, which they pretty much have to). Had the trade fell through, they would have sported a lineup of Chauncy Billups, Gordon, Butler, Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Both look pretty damn good on paper. We’ll have to wait for the smoke to clear and actual basketball games to be played before we hand out grades on this one.

[ESPN]

* – This whole thing could go to shit with one blink of Stern’s eye.