We’ve been waiting for the first instance of the “collect superstars at any cost” strategy perfected by the Miami Heat and emulated by the rest of the league (most notably the Knicks) to end in disaster; you can only trade your whole team for one feller so many times until it all implodes. If there were ever a team it’d fail for, it’d be the Los Angeles Clippers. Last night, David Stern finally gave his ham-fisted thumbs up to a Chris Paul trade, and the Hornets shipped Paul to the Clips for Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Raouq Aminu, and next year’s first round pick of the Minnesota Timberwolves (which the Clips already had). That’s quite the haul for the Hornets — better than what the Lakers were offering when Stern bonged the deal — and leaves the Clips with Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan … and a bunch of cheap veterans. (By the way … Paul’s gonna sign an extension with the Clips, right? Right?) One of those veterans is our old pal Chauncey Billups, who is having an awfully tumultuous fortnight. Amnestied by the Knicks, picked up by the Clips, and then replaced by an All-Star: Amusingly enough, he’s now slated to play shooting guard. Maybe the Knicks can figure out a way to trade for him back!