Over the last couple of days, comments from Chris Paul and his former head coach Doc Rivers made the headlines about the All-Star point guard’s departure from Los Angeles and the Clippers.
According to an article by ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan, Rivers said that Paul rubbed some players the wrong way at times and didn’t always take accountability for when he messed up. Paul responded by saying that he’s not a bad leader and that he was all-in with the Clippers.
The Associated Press
That was followed up with Rivers saying he thinks Paul was tired of hearing his voice during an ESPN interview, and ESPN recently released a three-part mini-documentary where Paul discusses some of the reasons he left Los Angeles for Houston.
“Like, a lot of people see wins and losses and all the stuff like that, but it’s the culture of our team,” Paul said. “I was like, man, if you ain’t trying to contend with the Warriors, then what are doing? The Warriors haven’t lost in the playoffs. Like, if you’re not trying to contend with them, then what are you doing?”
In another part, Paul adds that he was just tired of dribbling the ball so much.
“I said this for the longest: I had the ball in my hands way too much,” Paul added. “I’m so tired of dribbling and having to do so much. I would love to get on the wing and shoot the ball. Stuff like that.”
Before the Clippers’ season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers, Doc Rivers spoke to members of the media and asked about Paul’s comments questioning the culture of the Clippers.
“Listen, I think when you leave, you should just leave,” Rivers said. “Honestly, don’t need to try to burn the house down or justify why you left. That’s what I would say. I like our culture. I’ve said [before], I didn’t think our culture was as good as it should’ve been last year because we had guys thinking about leaving. When you have that, I’ve always believed you’re either in or you’re out. And if you’re thinking about being out, then you’re probably out. I think that manifested itself last year, but like I’ve said before, chris was great for us. He did a lot of great things.
“I thought we were always trying to be Golden State. We were the last team to beat them in the west, when you think about it. Then we had a chance to beat Oklahoma City and I don’t think that was culture. That was just we discombobulated as a team, we did it a couple times, but overall I liked our run, we just weren’t good enough at the end of the day and that happens.”
USA TODAY Sports
Without Paul, the Clippers look to Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan as the clear leaders of this team. The amount of new guys on this team will certainly have Rivers and the team focused on team chemistry rather than what their former teammate has to say about his past experiences with the team.
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