New Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul has developed a reputation as being a competitive player, but one that is hard to work with. On Saturday, his former LA Clippers teammate Kenyon Martin spoke on Paul and how his actions can rub fellow players the wrong way.
"Where there's smoke, I'm a firm believer there's fire."@KenyonMartinSr says CP3 can rub guys the wrong way by acting like the coach and "being the biggest voice in the room."
"That's James [Harden's] team. James' not going to accept that." pic.twitter.com/JGMvP9SF8a
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 12, 2019
Paul is known as one of the league's ultimate floor generals and is constantly shouting directions to teammates on both ends of the floor. Whether it be calling for a screen or a defensive switch, it's uncommon to not catch Paul screaming at his teammates at least once while watching him play.
Paul's goal is just to help his teammates do better. However, Martin claimed this can annoy NBA players when one of their fellow players acts as a coach.
Historically, Paul has beefed with teammates. By the end of his Clippers tenure, Paul's antics had worn thin on many of his teammates. J.J. Redick said the team relationship developed into a passive-aggressive mess.
Paul's exit from Houston was anything but graceful. Whispers spread that James Harden had enough of Paul, and wanted him off the team. The Rockets did the best to nullify these rumors, claiming the relationship was fine. However, Paul was traded shortly after reports of discontent emerged, shipping him to Oklahoma City.
It remains to be seen if Chris Paul will even play a game for the Thunder. It is likely that the fiery, controversial guard ends up elsewhere by the start of the season.
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