By Broderick Turner
As expected, the Clippers offered extensions to All-Stars Blake Griffin and Chris Paul on Saturday night when the free-agency period opened, which teams can negotiate with free agents and offer extensions to players. Contracts, which can be agreed upon, can't be signed until July 11.
And as expected, Griffin agreed to his five-year extension worth up to $95 million and Paul didn’t accept his three-year extension for $60 million, according to sources who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Griffin, who is locked up for the next six years, will earn $7.2 million next season.
Paul, who will earn $17.7 million next season, is in the last year of his contract. He is waiting to sign an extension after next season, which is a better financial decision, said a source close to the point guard.
Paul can sign a five-year, $108-million extension with the Clippers in July 2013.
The Clippers also made contact with the representatives of guard Chauncey Billups on Saturday night. Billups missed most of last season recovering from a torn left Achilles’ tendon, but the Clippers want him to return.
