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Chris Paul is heading to Houston to join James Harden, giving the Rockets two All-Stars in the backcourt to lead their chase for a championship.
In the NBA’s second blockbuster trade in less than a week, the Rockets acquired Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday in exchange for Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, Darrun Hilliard, DeAndre Liggins, Kyle Wiltjer, a protected first-round pick next year and cash considerations. The Rockets acquired Hilliard from Detroit and Liggins from Dallas for cash considerations before adding them to the deal.
“It’s a weapons race in the NBA, and you’re either in the weapons race or on the sidelines,” Houston General Manager Daryl Morey said. “We felt like with James Harden in his prime and Chris Paul in his prime this gives us a real shot to chase the juggernaut teams that are out there. This puts us right there with them.”
Both the Clippers and Houston will look far different next season than they did in again falling short in the playoffs. The roster overhauls came five days after Minnesota sent three players to Chicago for All-Star Jimmy Butler to kick things off with NBA free agency opening Saturday.
The 32-year-old Paul will be playing for his third team after opting in for the last year of his contract so the Clippers could work on a deal. Morey wanted to get this deal done early so Paul could help Harden woo free agents to Houston.
“Now that we have James and Chris I think people are going to look in free agency and say: ‘Hey I can make this money there, but maybe for close to the money but not quite as much I’m going to come to Houston and try to win a ring,’” he said. “So that’s a big difference walking in with that kind of a situation.”
Paul is a nine-time All-Star who has averaged 18.7 points, 9.9 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals during his 12-year career, though he has been dogged with criticism in recent years for failing to help the Clippers get out of the second round of the playoffs. Los Angeles reached the postseason in each of Paul’s six seasons with the team, but the Clippers were eliminated in the first round three times and in the Western Conference semifinals three other times.
Perhaps the most crushing playoff series loss of his tenure with the Clippers came to the Rockets in 2015. Los Angeles had a 3-1 lead in the conference semifinals before Houston won the last three games of the series to send Paul and the Clippers home early yet again.
The Clippers were eliminated in the first round the past two seasons, and Paul isn’t the only star who may be leaving. Blake Griffin informed the team last week that he is opting out of the last year of his contract to explore free agency. J.J. Redick also is a free agent.
In Houston, Paul joins a team that was eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs in the conference semifinals. With Harden’s move to point guard last season, Paul’s role will probably be a bit different than it has been in Los Angeles. But he will add another scoring dimension in replacing Beverley in the starting lineup. Beverley received NBA defensive first team honors last week but averaged just 9.3 points in his five seasons with the Rockets.
Coach Mike D’Antoni knows the biggest question people have is how Harden and Paul will play together. But he isn’t worried about that and said it will be a joy to have both of them on his team.
“You can sit around all day and say why it wouldn’t work, but it does because they want it to work,” D’Antoni said. “And I know James and Chris want it to work and that’s all it takes.” Beverley is the only Houston starter involved in the deal, with Williams and Dekker playing reserve roles last season.
Morey and D’Antoni admitted shipping Beverley off was a tough decision.
“Any trade you feel great about one thing and bad about another,” D’Antoni said. “I’ve probably coached 160 guys in this league, and (Beverley’s) one of the top 5. Just his heart and soul and what he does so you hate that. But Chris Paul is Chris Paul, and I’ve thought for the last 10 years that he was the best point guard in the league until I coached James, obviously. So it’s great to have both of them.”
Williams, the 2014-15 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, was traded to the Rockets from the Los Angeles Lakers in February. He averaged 14.9 points and three rebounds in 23 games for Houston. Dekker, the 18th pick in the 2015 draft, missed all but three games as a rookie because of back surgery. The small forward was healthy this season and appeared in 77 games and averaged 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds. Harrell, a second-round pick in 2015, averaged 6.9 points and 2.9 rebounds in two seasons in Houston. Wiltjer spent most of his rookie season last year in the D-league after going undrafted out of Gonzaga.
Houston also acquired Ryan Kelly from Atlanta and Tim Quarterman from Portland for cash considerations and Shawn Long from Philadelphia for a future second-round pick and cash considerations. Long, a former Morgan City High School and Louisiana-Lafayette standout, had per-game averages of 8.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 0.5 blocks with the 76ers a year ago. Additional reporting by The Daily Review Sports Editor Geoff Stoute

BATON ROUGE (AP) — Describing the request as politically motivated overreach, Louisiana’s Republican secretary of state said Monday that he won’t give President Donald Trump’s voting commission the private voter identification information it requested.
Secretary of State Tom Schedler said the commissioners can have the limited public information about voters that is available to anyone under Louisiana’s law — but like everyone else, they will have to pay for it.
Additional data sought by the Trump commission, including partial Social Security numbers and birth dates, will be kept private and protected, Schedler said.
“The President’s commission has quickly politicized its work by asking states for an incredible amount of voter data that I have, time and time again, refused to release,” Schedler said in a statement. “My response to the commission is, ‘You’re not going to play politics with Louisiana’s voter data.’”
The publicly available voter lists available for purchase in Louisiana include names, addresses, party registrations and voter histories that show who voted, but not how they voted, said Schedler spokeswoman Meg Casper Sunstrom.
Trump established the commission to investigate allegations of voter fraud in the 2016 elections, but critics have blasted it as a biased panel that is merely looking for ways to suppress the vote. Schedler has defended Louisiana’s elections system, saying the state didn’t have any widespread irregularities or allegations of fraud during the presidential election.
Several states, including neighboring Mississippi, have refused to comply with the request for detailed information about every voter in the country, citing privacy concerns. No state election official planned to provide the commission with all of the information requested, according to an Associated Press survey of individual state responses.
The refusals have provoked criticism from Trump. On Saturday, the President tweeted: “Numerous states are refusing to give information to the very distinguished VOTER FRAUD PANEL. What are they trying to hide?”
Schedler said his response to the Trump administration is the same response he gave to President Barack Obama’s administration, when the Department of Justice sought to obtain personal voter data during the back-and-forth over a 2011 lawsuit involving Louisiana’s voter-registration efforts.
Louisiana’s secretary of state said both the Obama and Trump administration requests were politically motivated. He said the release of such private information “creates a tremendous breach of trust with voters who work hard to protect themselves against identity fraud.”
“This commission needs to understand clearly, disclosure of such sensitive information is more likely to diminish voter participation rather than foster it,” Schedler said. “I have been fighting this kind of federal intrusion and overreach, and will continue to fight like hell for the people who trust me with the integrity of our election process.”
Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, supports Schedler’s decision not to share the private voter information, said Edwards spokesman Richard Carbo.

NEIGHBORHOOD
Morgan City Police Department hosting a Neighborhood Watch organizational meeting for residents of Section 6 (bounded by Front Street, Brashear, Federal and Railroad avenues) at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 6, at Masonic Temple, 506 Second St. For info call Lt. John Schaff, 985-389-4605.

FREE UNIFORMS
New Salem Baptist Church, 1412 Cherry St., Patterson, giving away free school uniforms and school supplies from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, July 8. For info call Jeannette Williams, 337-636-2950 or Deborah Calhoun, 337-579-1577.

AARP DANCE
From 7-11 p.m. Saturday, July 15, at St. Mary Senior Citizens Center, 4014 Chennault St., Morgan City. Music by 5 O’clock Shadows. Tickets: advance, $8; at door, $12. For info call 985-384-2277.

Staff Report
An undercover operation by the Morgan City Police Department and the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office into drugs and prostitution resulted in the arrest of a Thibodaux man and a local woman.
According to Morgan City Police Chief James Blair, Amy Benoit, 27, of Moffett Court in Morgan City, and Chance Rose, 42, of 12th Street in Thibodaux, were arrested on 8:44 p.m. Friday. Benoit was charged with solicitation of prostitution, possession of marijuana, possession of Schedule IV narcotics (Alprazolam), violation of the uniform controlled dangerous substance law (drug-free zone) and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Rose was charged with possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and, violation of the uniform controlled dangerous substance law (drug-free zone).
After receiving information in regards to prostitution activity in the Morgan City area, investigators made contact with a female later identified as Benoit.
Blair said Benoit and undercover officers negotiated sexual acts for monetary payment. Benoit agreed to meet undercover officers at a local motel in the area of Martin Luther King Boulevard. Benoit arrived at the local motel with another subject identified as Rose.
Blair said that the subjects were taken into custody, and Benoit was found to be in possession of suspected marijuana, alprazolam, which she did not hold a valid prescription, and drug paraphernalia. Rose was found to be in possession of suspected marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The area where the incident had taken place was within a drug-free zone. Benoit and Rose were jailed.
St. Mary Parish Sheriff Mark Hebert reported the following arrests in east St. Mary Parish:
—Alex Justelien, 35, of La. 315 in Houma, was arrested 9:09 a.m. Friday for speeding in a construction zone, expired license plate and operating a vehicle with a suspended driver’s license.
A deputy initiated a traffic stop after observing a vehicle speeding on La. 90 in Patterson. The driver was identified as Justelien. The deputy also found that the registration on the vehicle was expired and that Justelien was driving with a suspended license. Justelien was jailed and released on a summons to appear in court Sept. 8.
—Amanda Martin, 36, of Mercury Road in Bayou Vista, was arrested 2:10 p.m. Friday for operating a vehicle with a suspended driver’s license.
A deputy investigating a two-vehicle crash on La. 182 at Southeast Boulevard in Bayou Vista found that one of the drivers, Martin, had a suspended license. Martin was released on a summons to appear in court Sept. 8.
—Lashovious Smith, 39, of Spell Street in Houston, was arrested 4:17 p.m. Friday for speeding (construction zone) and improper lane usage.
A detective traveling on La. 90 initiated a traffic stop after observing a vehicle speeding 90 mph in a posted 55 mph zone in the Patterson area, the sheriff’s office said. The detective also observed the vehicle swerving from lane to lane. Smith was identified as the driver. Smith was jailed and released on a $750 bail.
—Trish Fontenot, 46, of Moon Road in Bayou Vista, was arrested 10:01 p.m. Friday for violation of the parish leash law. A deputy responded to an animal complaint at a residence on Moon Road. Herbert said the deputy found that a loose dog entered onto private property and began fighting with another dog. The deputy identified the owner of the loose dog as Fontenot. Fontenot was jailed and released on a summons to appear in court Sept. 8.
—Nicholas Grimmett, 36, of Bernard Street in Patterson, was arrested 4:31 a.m. Saturday for aggravated second-degree battery and aggravated battery, and on a warrant for probation violation.
A deputy responded to a report of a battery that occurred in Amelia in which the deputy located two male victims at Teche Regional Medical Center, said Hebert. The deputy located Grimmett at his residence. During the investigation, the deputy found evidence that Grimmett struck the two victims in the head with a piece of pipe, breaking one victim’s nose. Grimmett was jailed with no bail set.
—Anthony Arizmendi, 21, of Eighth Street in Morgan City, was arrested 12:07 a.m. Sunday on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, hit-and-run driving, careless operation with a crash, no driver’s license, second offense for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Hebert said deputies investigated a single-vehicle crash at the intersection of Duhon Boulevard and Lakeview Drive. Inside the vehicle, a deputy found a jar containing marijuana and a plastic pipe used for smoking marijuana.
The driver of the vehicle was located walking on La. 90 in the Siracusaville area and was identified as Arizmendi. While speaking with Arizmendi, the deputy gathered information that he had been drinking and administered a field sobriety test. Arizmendi did poorly on the field sobriety test and later registered a 0.150 grams percent blood alcohol concentration on a breath test. Arizmendi was jailed with no bail set.
—A juvenile female, 15, of Patterson, was arrested 4:29 p.m. Sunday for criminal damage to property and ungovernable juvenile. A deputy responded to a report of property damage at a residence in Patterson. During the investigation, the deputy found evidence that a girl damaged the tires on a vehicle. The girl was released to a guardian pending juvenile court proceedings.
—Jonathan Thomas, 43, of Natalie Lane in Patterson, was arrested 4:03 p.m. Sunday for operating a vehicle with a suspended driver’s license. A deputy investigating a two-vehicle crash on Natalie Lane found that one of the drivers, Thomas, had a suspended license. Thomas was released on a summons to appear in court Oct. 11.
—A juvenile male, 15, of Patterson, was arrested 8:07 p.m. Sunday for theft of goods. A deputy responded to a report of shoplifting at a store in Bayou Vista. The sheriff's office said that upon arrival, the deputy learned from store security that the suspect in the incident had left the store. The deputy located the suspect at a nearby business. The deputy collected evidence that the boy concealed items on his person and attempted to leave the store without paying for the goods. The boy was released to a guardian pending juvenile court proceedings.
Blair reported the following arrests:
—Tamara Manning, 35, of First Street in Morgan City, was arrested 10:15 a.m. Friday on a warrant for failure to appear to pay a fine June 20. Manning was located at the Morgan City Police Department on active arrest warrants held by the 6th Ward Morgan City Court. Manning was booked into the Morgan City jail.
—Eddie Mayfield, 32, of Fifth Street in Morgan City, was arrested 10:19 a.m. Friday on a warrant for failure to appear to pay a probation fine March 7 and a warrant for failure to appear to pay a fine June 20.
—John Buck Jr., 30, of Ricohoc Drive in Franklin, was arrested 9:30 a.m. Friday on a charge of resisting an officer by giving false information. Police said that patrol officers responded to the area of Victor II Boulevard in regards to a disturbance. Blair said officers made contact with Buck and he provided officers with a false name, police said. After he was identified, Buck was jailed
—Hector Perez, 19, Skyla Crochet, 22, of Palm Street in Morgan City, and Troy Aucoin, 17, of Guidry Street in Morgan City, were arrested 12:12 a.m. Saturday on charges of possession of marijuana (second offense), illegal use of a controlled dangerous substance in the presence of juveniles, and violation of the uniform controlled dangerous substance law (drug-free zone). Perez was also charged with improper turning.
Police said that patrol officers initiated a traffic stop in the area of Shaw Drive after observing a vehicle negotiate an improper turn. Perez was identified as the driver and Aucoin and Crochet were identified as passengers as well as two juveniles.
Police said officers observed suspected marijuana on the shirt and pants of Aucoin and Crochet. Officers also located more suspected marijuana in the vehicle. The area where this incident had taken place was within a drug-free zone. Perez, Aucoin, and Crochet were jailed.
—Jessee Blakeman, 23, of Cypress Street in Morgan City, was arrested 8:52 a.m. Saturday on warrants for possession of a legend drug gabapentin, possession of legend drug risperidone, possession of drug paraphernalia, failure to appear for arraignment April 18, and a warrant for fugitive of Ascencsion Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Blakemen was located and arrested in the area of Cypress Street on active arrest warrants held by the Morgan City Police, 6th Ward Morgan City Court and Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The warrants from the Morgan City Police stem from an investigation conducted by patrol officers Friday, when officers responded to the area of Cypress Street in regard to a disturbance. Officers arrived and the suspect, Blakeman, had already left the area. Blair said Blakeman had left behind suspected Gabapentin, Risperidone that he did not have a prescription for and drug paraphernalia. Warrants were prepared for Blakeman’s arrest. Blakeman was jailed.
—Karen Strathman, 47, of Shady Grove in Morgan City, was arrested 7:29 p.m. Saturday on a warrant for failure to appear to pay fine on May 30. Strathman was located and arrested in the area of La. 70 on active arrest warrants held by the 6th Ward Morgan City Court. Strathman was jailed.
—Kari Warden, 31, of La. 182 in Morgan City, was arrested 9:22 p.m. Saturday on a warrant for failure to appear for arraignment May 10. Warden was located and arrested in the area of La. 182 on the active arrest warrant held by the 16th Judicial Court. Warden was jailed.
—Darell Gash, 36, of La. 182 in Morgan City, was arrested 12:10 a.m. Sunday on charges for possession of marijuana, obstruction of justice and violation of the uniform controlled dangerous substance law (drug-free zone).
Patrol officers initiated a traffic stop after observing a vehicle being operated in the area of Railroad Avenue with improper lighting. Gash was identified as a passenger. Blair said Gash was found to be in possession of suspected marijuana and evidence indicated Gash had ingested some of the marijuana when stopped by patrol officers, police said.
The area where this incident had taken place was within a drug-free zone. Gash was jailed.
—Devin Trouilliet, 21, of Federal Avenue in Morgan City, was arrested 1:38 a.m. Sunday for resisting an officer and battery on a police officer. Trouillet was located and arrested in the area of La. 70 on active arrest warrants held by the Morgan City Police. The warrants stem from an investigation conducted by patrol officers in January 2017 when officers responded to the area of La 70 in regards to a disturbance. According to Blair, officers identified Trouillet as the suspect in that disturbance and that Trouillet resisted and committed a battery on an officer. Warrants were prepared for Trouilliet’s arrest. Trouillet was jailed.
—Larosia Washington, 62, of Grace Street in Morgan City, was arrested 3:47 p.m. Sunday on charges for possession of Schedule II narcotics (cocaine), possession of drug paraphernalia, and violation of uniform controlled dangerous substance law (drug-free zone).
Patrol officers responded to the area of La. 182 in regards to a suspicious subject. Officers observed a subject fitting the description provided. Police said that when the subject had seen officers, he began to act suspiciously and discarded something onto the ground. The subject was identified as Washington. The item that Washington allegedly discarded of was drug paraphernalia. Washington was found to be in possession of cocaine. The area where this incident had taken place was within a drug-free zone. Washington was jailed.
—Edward A. Gil, 39, of Kimberly Drive in Morgan City, was arrested 10:27 p.m. Sunday on charges for possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, improper turning and violation of the uniform controlled dangerous substance law (drug-free zone).
Patrol officers initiated a traffic stop after observing a vehicle negotiate an improper turn in the area of Railroad Avenue. Gil was identified as the driver. Blair said Gil was found to be in possession of suspected marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The area where the incident had taken place was within a drug-free zone. Gil was jailed.
Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported the following arrest:
—Gia Dardeau, 32, of Toups Street in Berwick was arrested 11a.m Friday on a warrant for contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile and a warrant for identity theft in which the victim was under 17. Dardeau was jailed, with bail set at $7,500.
Patterson Police Chief Patrick LaSalle reported the following arrest:
—Sylvester Francois, 19, of Taft Street in Patterson, was arrested 7:18 a.m. Friday for second-degree battery involving medical attention. Francois was jailed with $100,000 bail set.