You would of thought Chris Paul was thanking the heavens when he was traded from the New Orleans Hornets to the Los Angeles Clippers, especially after the NBA had previously blocked a trade that would of got him out of New Orleans and over to the Lakers. But he actually tells quite a different story about how he felt when he found out. Career wise it was the best thing to happen to him obviously, but it affected him in a much different way. Hit the jump.
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Chris said the morning he left for Los Angeles he cried his eyes out and it wasn’t tears of joy.
“We got on the plane and I laid my head on the window after saying goodbye to the guys at the airport that I used to see all the time. I was emotional,” Paul told Yahoo Sports. “You think you were going to have some time to let it set in. But as soon as it happened, all the memories, just leaving…
“The trade happened at night so it wasn’t like you got to tell people bye. It happened and we were gone.”
“I was really a part of that city,” Paul said. “I honestly can’t say one negative thing about the city. If it were not for the city of New Orleans, I’m not who I am now. They just embrace you as family.”
I guess it is safe to assume he will be the happiest player in the NBA this weekend as the league centers on New Orleans for the All-Star break. Hopefully he realized shortly after that if he stayed with the Hornets his career would not be where it is now. Still it is nice to see a pro athlete value the city he was playing for.
