Chris Paul‘s second stint with the Los Angeles Clippers was far from favorable, as the team essentially cast him aside during his final season in the NBA. While several players sympathized with Paul for the poor treatment, none related as well as Carmelo Anthony.
During their time on the Houston Rockets, Carmelo Anthony experienced a similar situation at the hands of Daryl Morey, who essentially told Anthony to leave. But on a recent episode of the “7 PM in Brooklyn” podcast, Anthony revealed how Chris Paul came to his aid.
“Daryl came into the room and told me, ‘Your services are no longer needed,'” Anthony recalled. “I’ve never heard no s**t like that before. I’m going to be honest. That’s like you’re really getting fired from your job.”
After learning about this, Paul took his family back to the hotel room to talk things out with Anthony. While this already spoke volumes about Chris Paul’s loyalty and character, his actions the following day asserted how close he truly was to Carmelo Anthony.
“The next day, we’re playing San Antonio,” Anthony continued. “They tell me you can either come to the game in your street clothes, sit behind the bench, and support the team, or you can fly back to Houston and wait until we tell you what you can do next.”
Paul interjected at this point and shared:
“I got a plane after that game that night. Me, Melo and my wife flew back because I wasn’t going to let them embarrass my dog like that.”
Although Carmelo Anthony referred to it as the “saddest” plane ride of his life, the solidarity displayed by Chris Paul is certainly noteworthy.
Daryl Morey is notorious for how he treats star-caliber players, and Anthony was no different. However, considering Paul’s position on that Rockets team, the guard put a lot at stake by picking sides.
Anthony’s tenure in Houston was brief, coming to a swift end after 10 games in the 2018-19 season. Although Paul remained with the team for the entirety of the season, he was traded immediately after, joining the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 2019-20 campaign before eventually landing on the Phoenix Suns.
Despite achieving great results with the Suns, Chris Paul’s time was eventually cut short, resulting in him becoming a journeyman. After bouncing from the Golden State Warriors to the San Antonio Spurs, he signed with the Clippers ahead of the 2025-26 season to receive a proper retirement tour.
Unfortunately, things went downhill, and Paul was traded to the Toronto Raptors ahead of this year’s trade deadline. The Raptors eventually waived him, leading Paul to retire after an illustrious 20 years in the NBA.
Chris Paul’s situation reveals the harsh reality of professional sports. Though some rumors suggest that there may have been more factors at play leading up to his exit from L.A., the result remains an unfortunate end to a Hall of Fame career.
