Chris Paul has seen his time with the Los Angeles Clippers come to an end. The franchise star came to the Clippers on some less than favorable circumstances but over time everyone forgot about the issues surrounding his arrival in Los Angeles and began to praise the Clippers for bringing him in.
But over his time spent with the Clippers the team didn’t exactly see the most success possible. They never made it to the Western Conference Finals despite having three All-NBA players on the team over the last five years. They just never hit the level we all expected them to get to. They were never really title contenders and they never even were threats to win the Western Concference.
With both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin set to hit free agency this summer, something weird was almost bound to happen and Chris Paul was the one who made the first move. Apparently after some discussions with James Harden, Chris Paul let it be known that he wouldn’t be re-signing with the Clippers. He was traded to the Rockets for seven players and a first round draft pick.
But it might not have been as simple as just length of a contract or money. It appears the beginning of the end for Chris Paul and the Clippers came when Los Angeles refused to trade for Carmelo Anthony in part because team president and head coach Doc Rivers didn’t want to trade his son Austin Rivers.
Michael Eaves of ESPN details the issues between Paul and the Rivers family.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe also touched on the relationship between the Rivers’ family and Paul.
At some point, a team stops believing it can win. Players get tired of each other, and yearn to try new things. The culture had eroded. Insiders complained about a lack of accountability — about practices and shootarounds starting late, and Austin Rivers carrying himself like an anointed superstar.
The relationship between Paul and Doc Rivers frayed, sources say. The Clippers may push the idea that they were hesitant to offer Paul a fifth season on the back of his deal, and they surely were. No team is thrilled about earmarking $40 million-plus for a 37-year-old. But they would have gone there to keep Paul. Bereft of draft picks, they are not set up well to rebuild. The alternative may be despair.
