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Chris Paul expresses happiness in DeAndre Jordan’s return

By Trisity Miller

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When DeAndre Jordan chose the Dallas Mavericks over the Los Angeles Clippers, collateral damage forced a reputation hit on the often-lauded point guard in Chris Paul. Nevermind what the “Point God” was able to do on the court. What transpired off the court between was being credited as a key factor in driving the center away in free agency, deducing the Clippers’ championship chances to rubble — at least for the 2015-16 season.

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    • If what was reported was true, Jordan had reached a breaking point in regard to the dwindling relationship between he and the team’s lead guard — this ‘graf from ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz explains the ordeal well:

    "He was tired of Paul’s constant barking and petty gestures, like distributing high-fives to the three other guys on the floor following a timeout but somehow freezing out Jordan. Optics aside, the biggest issue for Jordan was that, despite the leaps and bounds he made to be named first team all-defense, the Clippers always treated him like the player he was when he arrived in the NBA, and never like the player he’d become."

    Fortunately for Paul, Jordan, and the Clippers, the three parties were able to make peace with one another other on the fly as a 24-hour SWAT operation at DeAndre Jordan’s house — which featured the marquee free agent, Paul, Blake Griffin, Doc Rivers, and others — before free agents were able to put pen to pad to solidify decisions agreed to during moratorium led to Jordan reneging on his decision to join the Mavericks and instead, re-commit to the Clippers, a decision Chris Paul is happy about.

    “DeAndre is like my … big little brother. We talk a lot more than people realize, but, it doesn’t matter. Only thing that matters is that he’s back,” said Paul on the red carpet before the first ever NBA Player’s Award.

    There is no rule in the NBA that says teammates are forced to like each other. Time and time again throughout the league’s long history have teammates succeeded in spite of one another, with the most notable and recent instance being Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal carrying the Los Angeles Lakers to back-to-back-to-back NBA championships despite their well-documented turmoil, which eventually played a hand in ending the dynamic duo. From a talent perspective, Jordan is neither a Bryant or O’Neal, but his presence on this Clippers franchise is pivotal to it ever reaching heights the franchise has yet to reach and hope to during the championship window provided by its Big 3.

    “Only thing that matter is that he’s back” – Chris Paul on DeAndre Jordan

    As we’ve seen since the 2010-11 season,, Jordan being there alongside Paul and Blake Griffin isn’t enough to get this Clippers over the hump, as they’ve failed to make it past the second round as a trio — and in general, as a franchise. But with some nice off-season additions, they’re closer now than they ever before, much of which is due to Jordan’s decision to come back to where it all began for him in 2008.

    “We brought in Paul [Pierce] who I’m probably the happiest about because of championship pedigree and that voice in our lockerroom,” continued Paul. “We brought in Lance [Stephenson], Wes Johnson, signed Austin [Rivers] back, Josh Smith, so, it’s a big summer for us.”

    To view Paul’s full interview, check out the video below.

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