After the Los Angeles Clippers traded away superstar point guard Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets there were thought to be multiple reasons behind his departure. Though he didn’t choose to be traded, he was expected to walk anyways once he hit the free agency market to join a title contender.
The Clippers had a talented core consisting of Paul, DeAndre Jordan, and Blake Griffin but one of the reasons they imploded in the playoffs year after year could have been due to a lack of unity. After Paul’s departure, those rumors came back in full force as many speculated the tensions between Paul and his teammates was one of the reasons he is no longer a Clipper.
He was especially speculated to have a rocky relationship with his backup, Austin Rivers due to him supposedly receiving preferential treatment from his father and head coach Doc Rivers. According to USAToday’s Sam Amick, Rivers recently called Paul personally and the two discussed the false reports:
“I called Chris and was like, ‘Chris, what’s going on?’’” Austin Rivers told USA TODAY Sports while in town to watch NBA summer league. “Chris is like, ‘This is the biggest bull(expletive) I’ve ever seen in my life.’ Chris was just like, ‘This is a joke.’ So I asked him, I’m like, ‘You don’t need to come out and say nothing publicly, I don’t need you to do that. It’s just going to make it even more, now they’re going to drag it out two more days. I’ll take it. I don’t care. I’ve been dealing with this (dynamic) since I was six (years old). I really don’t even care.’”
The two spoke for approximately 40 minutes, with Paul reiterating to Austin that his reasons for leaving had more to do with his desire to join James Harden’s Rockets than they did the Clippers.
“What do I have to do with someone else’s move?” Austin Rivers asked. “Chris wanted to move because he’d been (with the Clippers) for a while. He’s had great years there, but he wanted something new. A lot of players want that. It’s really that simple.”
While it seemed from the outside looking like the reportedly tense relationship between Paul and Rivers was a driving force to his departure, it’s clear the two have no problems and Paul leaving LA was strictly a basketball decision. Look for Paul to thrive in Houston alongside James Harden, a situation he’s wanted to be in all along.
