The NBA is a business and, like most businesses, people come and go.
For Chris Paul, he has faced the realities of change more times than one. Leaving the Hornets in 2011, then the Clippers in 2017, and then Houston just this past summer, he is what most would call a “nomad.” While not all of his moves may not have been a part of his plan, his exit from the Rockets was especially brutal.
In an interesting quote by the star guard himself, he actually revealed to Sports Illustrated the moments leading up to his trade, and how he was misled by GM Daryl Morey into believing he would not be sent to OKC.
“After the season I reached out to the [Rockets] and said, ‘Hey, if you guys want to go in a different direction, let us know now. That way we can figure something out,’” Paul said. “They said we’re not trying to go in a different direction. [Morey] asked me if I wanted to go to Oklahoma City. I said no, and he said, ‘We won’t trade you there, because you chose to come to us from L.A.’ He doesn’t owe me anything, but that’s where the whole communication thing was.”
Towards the end of the 2018-19 season, reports of a rift between Paul and Harden were taking over the narrative for Houston. Several off-court altercations were reported, along with multiple sideline screaming matches between the two.
Evidently, Morey had to choose: Paul or Harden. It didn’t take him very long to make his pick, and he wasted no time in looking for a return. In the end, he didn’t even do Paul the due-diligence of letting him know what was happening.
