DeAndre Jordan signed a four-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks over the weekend, and there is a growing belief that his relationship with Chris Paul is one of the reasons the the 6-foot-11 center decided to leave the Los Angeles Clippers.
According to a report from Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com, Jordan and Paul got into it numerous times this past season. It sounds like the animosity took its toll on Jordan.
The core of the team had been together for more than three years, and tempers were wearing thin. Jordan and Chris Paul had gotten into it more than once, which led Jordan to start seriously contemplating what it might be like to play elsewhere in 2015-16.
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…
A separate report from CBSSports.com’s Ken Berger referred to the relationship between Jordan and CP3 as “demonstrably poor.” Plus, this isn’t exactly news. There were rumors back in May that Jordan and Paul clashed during the season, though Doc Rivers later insisted his two players got along very well.
There’s simply too much smoke for there to not have been fire. Paul won’t have to worry about getting angry with Jordan over stuff like this anymore. The two are now Western Conference rivals.
H/T New York Post
