After the 2010-11 NBA season, the Chris Paul trade involving the then-New Orleans Hornets and two Los Angeles teams is well-documented. With Paul spending six seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers and traded to the Houston Rockets this offseason, new information has been revealed.
Prior to being traded to the Clippers, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN shared the nine-time All-Star informed two teams that he would not re-sign with them during trade discussions as transcribed by RealGM:
“When Chris Paul was in New Orleans, there were two teams that wanted to be aggressive in trading for him and he said ‘I will not re-sign with you,'” said Wojnarowski about the Celtics and Warriors.
Although the Celtics were still fairly competitive at that point, Paul was concerned about the advanced age of the team's core:
The Celtics attempted to acquire Paul by trading Rajon Rondo to the Pelicans. The advanced age of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce was a significant reason why Paul didn't want to join the Celtics.
While this will go down as one of the biggest ‘what if' moments in league history, it eventually worked out for the Celtics and Warriors. Although it took some time, the Warriors have won two championships in three consecutive NBA Finals appearances and the Celtics are one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
As for Paul, he unfortunately never advanced past the conference semifinals with the Clippers. With a fresh start in Houston, Paul is now looking to dethrone the Warriors and potentially meet the Celtics in the 2018 NBA Finals.
Follow Us
Subscribe