I couldn’t see Chris Paul leaving the Clippers and it’s pretty obvious why he would stay. He got the chance to speak with reporters about his re-signing during a Clippers news conference yesterday.
Check out what he had to say…
Via ESPN:
Chris Paul could have had his own news conference. He could have had his own day in the sun in front of the cameras and media where he explained why he chose to stay with the Los Angeles Clippers.
He didn’t want that.
Paul wanted his first news conference after signing a 5-year, $107 million extension with the Clippers to demonstrate why he stayed with the team.
So instead of a normal news conference, the Clippers positioned nine chairs on a two-tiered stage, showcasing the players who had re-signed with the Clippers (Paul, Matt Barnes and Ryan Hollins), the new players who had been acquired (Jared Dudley, J.J. Redick and Darren Collison) and the front office (Doc Rivers, Gary Sacks and Andy Roeser).
“This press conference is special,” Paul said. “It was me along with five other guys. There’s no one person that’s more important than the team and I absolutely mean that. That picture there of all of us up there is one I’ll probably hang up in my house.”
…
In the end, Paul said the decision to stay with the Clippers wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be when he sat down with his family.
“I don’t remember the actual day but I remember being at home and I asked my wife, ‘You think we’re going to stay?’ ” Paul said. “She said, ‘Yep, if you think it’s the right decision.’ I talked to my brother and everyone else and I felt this gave me the best opportunity to win.”
