"The first big news the Clippers made Monday was when they pulled out of a proposed deal to acquire All-Star point guard Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets.

Then in the afternoon the Clippers won the waiver auction to get veteran point guard Chauncey Billups, and re-signed center DeAndre Jordan by matching the Golden State Warriors' four-year, $43.2-million contract offer.

"I don't know if there's anybody on the planet that doesn't think they would need Chris Paul if they had an opportunity to acquire him," said Neil Olshey, the Clippers' vice president of basketball operations, who, along with Coach Vinny Del Negro and team President Andy Roeser, had been working on all three deals since Sunday night.

"I think [the Hornets] feel they made a fair proposal," Olshey said. "We passed on it and we've moved on with our business. We're going forward with this group of players. And it just got better by keeping DeAndre and adding Chauncey.""