"Despite expressed interest from the NBA in reviving talks, the Los Angeles Clippers are still reticent about completing a trade for Chris Paul that would cost them too many of their preferred assets, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

One source involved in the talks characterized the negotiations late Monday as "dead for now."

The Clippers backed out of a possible deal with the New Orleans Hornets earlier Monday because they considered the demands of NBA officials – who are presiding over the Hornets' trade talks – too steep. Given permission by the Hornets to speak with Paul, Clippers officials had a recent phone conversation with the All-Star point guard in which he expressed excitement about the possibility of playing with guard Eric Gordon and the potential of the unprotected 2012 first-round draft pick the Clippers have acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves, league sources said. The Clippers worry that surrendering both of those assets in any package for Paul would be detrimental to their efforts to convince him to stay with the franchise for the long-term."