The twelve-times NBA All-Star and NBA All-Star Game MVP of 2013, Chris Paul of the Golden State Warriors recently revealed what happened during his departure from the Houston Rockets and also the situation which surrounded the trade.
1 on 1 with The Point God, @cp3. New Episode dropping on Wednesday 🎙️3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/GbqAxdIZm0
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) February 27, 2024
The four-time All-NBA First Team, Chris Paul was picked up in the 2005 NBA Draft in the first round as the fourth overall pick. He was selected by the New Orleans Hornets and he was with them from 2005 to 2011.
His next destination was the Los Angeles Clippers and Paul played for the club from 2011 to 2017. He then joined Houston Rocket and after 2019 he sought trade as he stated among other things in "The Why With Dwayne Wade".
According to TalkBasket.net, the six-time NBA steals leader shared, "I basically got myself traded from Houston. I called Daryl [Morey] and the coach, [Dan] D’Antoni to tell them somebody could come [and] end up playing on the team with us."
"But what ended up happening was Daryl called me while I was in Vegas…so the night that started everything was when Kawhi [Leonard] went to the Clippers and then Paul George go traded to the Clippers. Russell [Westbrook] was still in OKC and Shai went to OKC for the trade…I seen Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] in Vegas, I dapped up Shai I was like this is gonna be good for you, you gon’ get to hoop, do your thing in OKC."
However, the situation was changed due to new developments in the league such as Kawhi Leonard moving to the Los Angeles Clippers and the trade involving Paul George.
Paul further recalled that he was in Las Vegas when he received an unexpected call from the then general manager of the Rockets, Daryl Morey informing him about his trade speculations between him and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Morey had assured Paul that he would not be traded to City Thunder against his will but he was taken aback when he found out that he was traded to City Thunder despite Morey"s assurances.
In light of sudden changes of circumstances, the Point God expressed dissatisfaction with what was going on as he had relocated his family recently to Houston.
Chris Paul reveals that Daryl Morey lied to him by saying he wouldn’t trade him to OKC
"I go over to the gym to go work out and Daryl call me…He said ‘I was just calling you to make sure you didn’t wanna go to OKC.’ I was like, ‘No, why I don’ moved 15 people to Houston.’ And… pic.twitter.com/b8MWeGf4nw
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 29, 2024
He further continued, "I go over to the gym to go work out and Daryl call me…He said ‘I was just calling you to make sure you didn’t wanna go to OKC.’ I was like, ‘No, why I don’ moved 15 people to Houston.’ And he was like, ‘Okay I was just making sure. He was like I would never trade you to somewhere you didn’t want to go because you chose to come to us from the Clippers,’ I chose to go to Houston from LA…I’m at the house chilling, I was on the phone with Jada [Chris’ wife] and next thing you know [the alert] said that I was getting traded [to OKC]."
"And then my phone started ringing and it was Daryl calling. So I ain’t know…Daryl was like, ‘Hey man, it just moves so fast.’ I said, ‘It’s all good I just want you to tell me one thing. You said you wasn’t going to trade me, right?’ He said, ‘Yeah I said that but–’ I said, ‘That’s all I needed to know.’"
