Chris Paul to the Rockets

[Ranma]

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[wco81]

Only his second year there, his first under the new contract.

Now he decides ISO offense is no good for him?

I guess if Clippers gave him the 5-year max, he'd have stayed?

[Quake Griffin]

He was invested in winning the break up year 1.

Year 2, his investment in winning the break up just isn't enough to make marriage #2 (well...3?) work.

Probably shoulda stayed but there's no guarantee the logo and company wouldn't have dealt him for assets when they realized Lob City wasn't going anywhere. Holy ****, imagine him and Blake getting huge $170 million plus deals just to get dealt away in short order.

[esqtvd]

Only his second year there, his first under the new contract.

Now he decides ISO offense is no good for him?

I guess if Clippers gave him the 5-year max, he'd have stayed?

I was always a huge CP fan here but he didn't work it out with Blake either. Maybe he was the problem?

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[mkwest]

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[esqtvd]

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Was it Jerry West's Clippers who made it respectable to dump your max guy after he chose to sign with you rather than go elsewhere?

I always thought it was cheesy to dump a guy who came here willingly as a FA [although Spencer Hawes wanted out of town even more than we wanted him out, LOL]. But with max or near-max guys, they got their dough, so all's fair in love and basketball--as long as the $$ is there, right?

To Morey's credit, he kept the unspoken promise to CP--who played 2017-18 under the last year of his Clippers contract instead of opting out--with the tacit understanding the max contract would follow. [$160M/4 years.] And it did.


So really, Morey [and The Beard] and CP are even steven, I make it. The only question is: Who the hell would want 3 more years of a 34-year-old Chris Paul at $40 million a year?


[Hint: The woeful Hornets. CP born in Winston-Salem, went to Wake Forest. Kemba S&T? And you thought Doc blew it with Jeff Green? That was a pinky toe in the water. Morey went all-in with Harden/CP and it's gonna cost him bigtime to bail himself out.

Me, I think Houston is ruined for the next decade. By contrast, Doc left the Clippers organization clean. ]

[esqtvd]

migod, CP really sucked in the playoffs this year for his $40 million

17.0 ppg, 5.5 apg, 3.4 TOs, 27% from 3

[mkwest]

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[Quake Griffin]

So he's just going to whore himself out for a ring now.

smfh.

[Wammy Giveaway]

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I spoke of this on the 2018-19 Los Angeles Clippers Season Wrap-Up.

I had to wonder, was he going to learn his lessons or was he gonna continue doing this, and when I saw that ejection (Ed. Note: for punching Rajon Rondo in response to getting spat on), I said, "This is it." Now he's forced to re-figure himself out. I actually thought that he was gonna ask for a trade, buy out his contract so that he could admit that re-signing for that big term deal was a mistake, and that he would go to the Lakers (please LeBron, save me because you're my Banana Boat buddy) or he goes to the Warriors because... "Uh, I can't beat you, I give up. Here, get me to an NBA Finals, give me a free ring. Could you see Paul end up reduced to that?

{*long silence*}

No, NO. Paul's the head of the Players Union and there's no way he was either gonna turn down the super max or buy it out. No way. It would just set a bad precedent. And he wasn't gonna turn away $205 million or whatever, it's just not happening. He wasn't gonna go to the Warriors; they wouldn't have taken him anyway, they didn't need him. The Lakers, no, that wasn't happening either. Even though he's friends with LeBron... I don't know. Paul was never gonna get out of that contract cause A) who's gonna say "No" to $205 million and B) as head of the Players Union, this sends a bad message.

If Paul gets traded, there's gonna be a labor ethics conflict.

[og15]

Lol, Paul said part of why he left the Clippers was that he didn't think winning was as much of a priority as it should have been, that is based on his own optics or moves made / not made, etc. He goes to Houston, then the owner sells the team soon after he gets there to a new guy who seems to want to win, but not prioritizing winning so much vs cutting costs it seems

Life, it is happening right before you. We lucked out though, love Paul's game, and I do agree, Houston's system is not maximizing him as he ages, but full max on him for what would be another 3 seasons is just too painful at this stage of his career. Prime version, great, but not this version.

[Ranma]

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[Ranma]

What the heck did Chris Paul and the Rockets expect? CP3 left the Clippers because he wanted to win but he willingly teamed up with Harden in that pursuit and soured on that relationship after just 2 seasons. Did he not watch the Beard's game over the years? Also, Paul showed himself to be demanding--to put it mildly--as well as aging and they still gave him that huge contract extension. Both parties deserve what they got.

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[Quake Griffin]

LMAO.

The grass aint always greener but I guess his bank account is.

[MartinToVaught]

You just know CP3 leaked this himself, since the article is basically putting all the blame on Harden and making him look bad. It reminds me of that Michael Eaves report that blamed Doc and Austin for CP3 leaving the Clippers.

This is the perfect example of why CP3 is never going to win anything. When things go wrong, it's always someone else's fault and never his.

[Ranma]

LMAO.

The grass aint always greener but I guess his bank account is.

You just know CP3 leaked this himself, since the article is basically putting all the blame on Harden and making him look bad. It reminds me of that Michael Eaves report that blamed Doc and Austin for CP3 leaving the Clippers.

This is the perfect example of why CP3 is never going to win anything. When things go wrong, it's always someone else's fault and never his.

As a former CP3 supporter, I have to agree that he has been the author of his own misery.

[MartinToVaught]

Just imagine the type of nonsense that Blake had to put up with behind the scenes for SIX years from this guy, all while being the scapegoat who took all the blame every time we lost.

[esqtvd]

Just imagine the type of nonsense that Blake had to put up with behind the scenes for SIX years from this guy, all while being the scapegoat who took all the blame every time we lost.

CP is a pr*ck, but Blake was no prize either.

https://www.businessinsider.com/blake-griffin-lawsuit-and-the-clippers-2018-2

A palimony lawsuit filed by Blake Griffin's ex-fiancee has brought to light more details regarding just how tense his relationship was with the Los Angeles Clippers, and particularly point guard Chris Paul, during his tenure with the team.

The lawsuit, which was published by Deadspin, notes that, "Griffin continued to rely on [ex-fiancee Brynn] Cameron for advice regarding his career. Griffin spoke with Cameron following games to discuss his performance and team dynamics, including his mounting tension with Chris Paul. The Clippers had been Griffin's team since he was drafted and he felt like it was no longer his team."

Furthermore, the lawsuit states, "Griffin struggled to be viewed as a leader for the Clippers while Chris Paul was such a vocal presence in the locker room and the media — and was better known for his drive to win and dedication to both team building and family values . . . The relationship between Griffin and other players had become so toxic [Clippers coach Doc] Rivers had to mediate disputes in private meetings with the players. Griffin did not know how to handle confrontations and would go silent when things did not go his way."

The lawsuit also alleges that Cameron helped counsel Griffin on how to communicate better. In addition, Cameron said that she hosted Griffin's teammates' families, and even hosted playdates for their children, actions the suit claims " . . . strengthened Griffin's bonds with his teammates and allowed the organization to see a different side of his personality rather than the hard-partying man-child Griffin had been prior."

Of course, locker room tension had often been reported during the Griffin-Paul era of the Clippers, and it helps to explain why the Clippers could never make the leap from a perennial playoff team to a true contender, as well as why the two stars are both now on different teams.

[MartinToVaught]

That isn't anywhere near as bad as what CP3's been doing. It's actually pretty understandable. We had just drafted Blake as the big franchise savior. CP3 came a couple years later and took over the whole team before Blake could truly establish himself as a leader, and he struggled to adjust to it. That's natural, and something teams go through all the time. Smooth transitions like D-Rob passing the torch to Duncan are the exception, not the norm.

Quitting on every team you've ever played for in the NBA is a lot less natural. CP3's played in this league in 2005 and I still can't think of one actual teammate he's had who can stand him. All of his buddies in the league only played with him in the Olympics, they didn't have to put up with his antics for a whole season.

[esqtvd]

That isn't anywhere near as bad as what CP3's been doing. It's actually pretty understandable. We had just drafted Blake as the big franchise savior. CP3 came a couple years later and took over the whole team before Blake could truly establish himself as a leader, and he struggled to adjust to it. That's natural, and something teams go through all the time. Smooth transitions like D-Rob passing the torch to Duncan are the exception, not the norm.

Quitting on every team you've ever played for in the NBA is a lot less natural. CP3's played in this league in 2005 and I still can't think of one actual teammate he's had who can stand him. All of his buddies in the league only played with him in the Olympics, they didn't have to put up with his antics for a whole season.

I'm not letting Chris off the hook. CP couldn't lead, but Blake wouldn't be led. It wasn't just Chris.

"The relationship between Griffin and other teammates had become so toxic Rivers had to mediate disputes in private meetings with the players."