According to a report, Chris Paul was definitely flexing his muscles with the Clippers organization just like he is in the picture for this story. This is crazy, but as a star player, sometimes you have to show that you have some control over the team as well. Remember when the Clippers were going hard to get Doc Rivers away from Boston, but then the deal seemed dead for a while? Well hit the jump to see what Chris Paul said to the organization, and the ultimatum he gave them.
@IamJoeSports
When you are a star player in the NBA, whether you realize it or not, you do have some power within the organization that you play for. Chris Paul realized this as well, and used it fully to his advantage. According to a very reliable report, when the deal seemed dead for the Clippers to get Doc Rivers as their coach, Paul told the team he was going to leave and sign with the Houston Rockets specifically, to play with Dwight Howard and James Harden. The report states he was dead serious and it was not just a negotiating tactic. For about 36 hours the Clippers were believing they were losing their franchise player, since we all know Blake Griffin is not a franchise player. Magically the deal to get coach Rivers was back on and the next day they welcomed Rivers as the new coach of the team. Then they gave Paul $107 million reasons to stay, besides having the coach he wanted and the rest is history. For a little man, he showed he has the strength to make things happen.
This story is clearly not true, seeing as how Doc Rivers went to the Clippers 3 weeks before Dwight signed with Houston..
@ holliday– this story is far from false. Rivers signed with the Clippers on June 25th. Chris Paul agreed on June 30th to stay with the Clips ( even though he could not physically sign until July 10th) Dwight Howard made it public on July 5th he was going to Houston, a difference of 10 days, not 3 weeks as you say ( again, even though he could not physically sign for another few days) If you recall, Dwight & Paul made it public knowledge they discussed playing together in Houston or Atlanta, but everyone knew Atlanta was out of the question. Paul used that knowledge to his advantage when negotiations broke down between the Clips & Doc. Just because Howard had not signed yet, does not mean Paul & Howard did not have a plan if they needed one. Not too mention this story was all over national sports news today. Thank you for reading