The Los Angeles Clippers have played for an extended period of time without one of their best players in Blake Griffin. Despite Griffin's elongated absence, the Clippers have already clinched a playoff berth and are likely to be a top-four seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
The biggest reason for the Clippers' success without Griffin has been superstar point guard Chris Paul. Paul has been the guy since Griffin went down, and he is really their only go-to scorer, so he has had to take on a massive workload. Paul has done a masterful job, but no matter who you are that kind of workload will take a lot out of you.
Griffin will be back pretty soon, but who knows what kind of shape he will be in or how much rust he will have to shake off, so Paul will likely continue to have a heavy workload for the rest of the regular season and as far the team goes in the playoffs. With that in mind Paul has decided to pull his name out of consideration for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Paul has been on Team USA for the last two Olympics, both gold medal teams, but he has decided that this go around he could use the time off. Paul will be 31 when the Olympics begin, and he has a lot of miles on those legs already, so he thinks it is best to take the summer to rest and spend time with his family rather than go for a third gold medal.
The 11-year NBA veteran said that he loves playing for Team USA and putting on that jersey gives him goose bumps. Paul also added that when playing for Team USA he realized he was part of something bigger than himself, but he cannot remember a summer when he wasn't either hurt or playing for Team USA so he wants to take time for himself.
Paul is the first of many NBA veterans who will have to make decisions regarding their future with Team USA. This decision likely ends Paul's international career, and it is very possible that guys like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony follow suit. There has been a lot of talk about whether James would play in the 2016 Olympics, but he has said throughout that he would wait to see how he feels after the season.
The USA team losing Paul is a big deal because he is the best point guard the NBA has seen in this generation, but it's not like it doesn't have options to replace him. Stephen Curry, John Wall, Russell Westbrook and Damian Lillard are all names that come to mind. Paul suggested the USA take a look at Kyle Lowry because of his toughness and grit, but he isn't even on the list of the 30 finalists.
It's sad to see Paul's international career end, but USA basketball will be just fine in the long run.
