When it comes to NBA rumors, Los Angeles Clippers All-Star Chris Paul has been mentioned quite a bit over the past few months. One of the biggest rumors that popped up was suggesting that he might go to the San Antonio Spurs in pursuit of an NBA Championship along with Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, and coach Gregg Popovich. A newer rumor came up after the Cleveland Cavaliers lost this year's NBA Finals, suggesting a "CP3" for Kyrie Irving sign-and-trade. Now there is a report indicating that Paul will speak to several teams during NBA Free Agency in addition to his current squad.

Houston & Denver in play?

An ESPN report on Friday notes that when the July 1st date for free agency hits, Chris Paul will speak with three teams beyond his Clippers team. The aforementioned Spurs are one of those teams. However, the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets are also teams that Paul will have conversations with.

While the Spurs and Nuggets seem like they could greatly benefit from having Paul as their floor general, one has to wonder how it might change the dynamic in Houston. James Harden is amongst the NBA MVP candidates this season, and although he is much more of a scorer, he averaged 8.5 assists per game to lead the team. Adding Paul would certainly change the dynamic, as it would probably mean that Harden would move to shooting guard and Paul would run the offense.

Of the teams mentioned, the Spurs and Rockets could have some issues in terms of clearing up cap space. It's suggested that Houston could move Ryan Anderson off the roster to help with that. The Nuggets have an emerging young center and $30-40 million in cap space. While money might seem like an issue at first, Paul's desire to play for a contender and win an NBA title could trump that.

Clippers have the advantage

When it comes down to it, if money talks, then the Los Angeles Clippers lead all "contenders" to keep Chris Paul during free agency. They can offer him a huge deal worth about $205 million over five years this July. At most, it's being said that Paul would get a four-year, $152 million contract from other squads in the league.

The Los Angeles Clippers could potentially move Blake Griffin in favor of a different NBA All-Star for "CP3" to try to win that first title with.

One thing is certain heading toward the 2017-18 NBA season, and that is that there is a gap between the top teams of the Eastern and Western Conferences when compared with the rest of the league. Several potential contenders will need to re-evaluate who's on their roster in an attempt to gain any sort of ground on their competitors. That could mean that the Clippers find a way to keep Paul and add at least another big star to the mix.
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