Rumors have emerged that the Los Angeles Clippers could send Chris Paul and Blake Griffin to the Boston Celtics before next year's February trade deadline if the team again fails to make a big splash in this upcoming regular season.

Paul, 31, and Griffin, 27--the Clippers' two best players--are both entering the fourth season of their respective five-year contracts and can both opt out of their deals with the club next summer to become unrestricted free agents.

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This scenario poses a high risk for Los Angeles as the team could lose its top two players without getting anything in return if they both choose to jump ship elsewhere.

Clippers head coach and general manager Doc Rivers admitted last month that the team is considering that possibility, which is why a potential trade involving the two superstars could happen before February 2017, the next season's trade deadline. Rivers disclosed that a "trade could happen and will be discussed near the February's trade deadline."

Sportsrageous reported that it will all depend on the squad's "early performance in the regular season" and that the Celtics are one of the top teams that could make an offer for the two perennial All-Star players.

Rivers is reportedly open to trading one or both of his top players for the chance of a rebuild especially if the team ends up still "not good enough to beat the Golden State Warriors or San Antonio Spurs."

It was suggested that Boston could send a package including Amir Johnson, Avery Bradley, Isaiah Thomas, Jonas Jerebko, Jaylen Brown, and Kelly Olynyk to Los Angeles in exchange for Paul and Griffin.

In December 2011, Paul, who had previously played all of his first six seasons with the then-New Orleans Hornets, was traded to the Clippers in a three-team deal that also involved the Minnesota Timberwolves. Paul joined forces with the sophomore Griffin and four-year pro DeAndre Jordan to form what became known as the Clippers' Big Three that eventually began the "Lob City" era.

However, it has been five seasons since then, and the threesome has not been able to lead the club past the Western Conference semifinals.

It has been 11 seasons of frustrations for Paul, and he recently acknowledged that, saying "unfortunately for me, I've had 11 summers of going into the summer knowing what it's like not to win a championship," according to ESPN.

The frustrations have added up year-after-year, and the possibility of Paul deciding to move on to another team that could give him a higher chance of winning the NBA title is quite high at this point.

TagsNBA Trade Rumors, NBA Trade Rumors 2016, chris paul, blake griffin, Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics