Los Angeles Clippers trade rumors 2016: Big 3 enough to make the team contenders

Martin Martinez Monday, September 19, 2016

When talking about championship contenders, few would consider the Los Angeles Clippers as one of them. But with the team's big three â€“ Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan â€“ the team has a chance of making it big.

They are the relatively new team in the Hollywood area as the Lakers are clearly in a state of rebuild. However, they are searching for that elusive run in the playoffs.

Blake Griffin (left) and DeAnde Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers. | Wikimedia Commons / Verse Photography

On paper, the team is loaded as it is led by Chris Paul, who has always been one of the best point guards in the league. Despite playing in his early 30s last year, Paul was still one of the best as he put up crazy numbers. He averaged 19.5 points and 10 assists per game while also shooting 46 percent from the field and 37 percent from beyond the arc.

The team also has Blake Griffin, who has evolved so much from being a high-flyer. During his stay in the league, Griffin has now developed a good post-game and has also toughened up, given that defenders are also choosing to take a more physical approach on the player.

Last season, Griffin managed 21.4 points per game while also grabbing 8.4 rebounds a night. The stellar averages were only thwarted by an injury that resulted in 35 games throughout the season.

Finally, the Clippers has DeAndre Jordan who is coming off a gold medal-winning performance with Team USA in the Rio Olympics. Jordan also emerged as a great player last season. He averaged 12.7 points per game while grabbing 13.8 rebounds per contest.

This powerhouse trio should be reason enough to believe the Clippers has a legitimate chance to win against the other Western Conference powerhouses.

Unfortunately, it has yet to reach the NBA Finals. The Western Conference Finals is the farthest the team has ever gone. And that has resulted in many believing that the window for the Clippers has closed.

But there is always hope for the coming season and with everyone starting on the same page, there should still be a lot of positivity for the Clippers.