Chris Paul’s departure from the Los Angeles Clippers came as a shock publicly, but if one report is true, it won’t have been a surprise privately.
ESPN’s Michael Eaves shared several alleged reasons that Paul left the Clippers, generally boiling it down to CP3 having a fallout with coach and team president Doc Rivers over the treatment of son Austin Rivers.
According to Eaves, several Clippers, including Paul, felt that Austin Rivers was given preferential treatment by his father, escaped criticism for mistakes where the rest of the team did not, and made no effort to fit in with his teammates as a result. Though veteran players tried to address the situation, Austin Rivers supposedly did not change his behavior, leading to resentment in the locker room.
The last straw, according to Eaves’ source, came last season, when the New York Knicks offered Carmelo Anthony and Sasha Vujacic to the Clippers in exchange for Jamal Crawford, Paul Pierce, and Rivers. Doc Rivers declined the trade, leading to Paul’s perception that the coach and GM was putting his son ahead of improving the team, with one executive stating that the event means Paul “despises” Doc.
Interestingly, former Clipper Glen Davis spoke of this sort of resentment recently, which led to Austin Rivers ripping him publicly. This is now the second time we’ve heard that there is something to it, and it ultimately may have cost the Clippers one of their superstars.
What’s notable is Austin Rivers did have something positive to say about CP3:
Dam….cp3 really dipped, was looking forward to lining up with u next year. Learned a lot from u tho bro. One of the best basketball minds
— Austin Rivers (@AustinRivers25) June 28, 2017
