Thunder Chris Paul ‘’appreciated’’ Blake Griffin more after his departure in 2017
Thunder superstar Chris Paul recently spoke to Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes on the All The Smoke Podcast and talked about the past and his time with his teammate Blake Griffin and what he realized after getting traded to Rockets in 2017:
“It’s seriously one of those things you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone,” Chris Paul said. “I think about it at times. And me and Blake Griffin absolutely had our issues here and there, but I actually appreciated Blake probably a lot more after I left.”
Chris Paul and Blake Griffin had issues while on the Los Angeles Clippers and although they were expected to lead the team to its core goal, the NBA title, they never made it past the second round of the playoffs. They had some chemistry, a lot of skill, but injuries and other issues perplexed the things and this duo ‘’broke’’ during the summer of 2017 when Chris Paul joined James Harden in Houston through trade. However, Paul still thinks about the potential they had.
THE TRADE
Paul, 32 years old back then, agreed to opt into the final year of his $24.2 million contract, clearing the way for the Clippers to execute a trade with the Rockets and bring back assets for Paul.
The Rockets sent the Clippers a package that included guards Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams, forward Sam Dekker and a 2018 first-round pick (protected Nos. 1–3), Montrezl Harrell, Darrun Hilliard, DeAndre Liggins, Kyle Wiltjer and future cash considerations.
Paul had informed the Clippers that he planned to sign with the Rockets as a free agent but asked them to work out a trade, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.