Paul’s return to Staples ‘different’
Ex-Clippers guard has fond memories of his six-year stint
LOS ANGELES — Chris Paul could not guess how he would feel, or maybe he just did not want to consider the emotions that could fill him when he plays against the Clippers for the first time since he decided it was time to move on.
Paul did not play when the Clippers were at Toyota Center, sitting out with a strained groin muscle. But it might be better this way, better to have his initial game against the Clippers since engineering the trade to the Rockets at Staples Center, where he can look to the portraits on the wall that once included his and hear superfan Clipper Darrell chant again, maybe chat with old friend Billy Crystal or ebullient Clippers owner Steve Ballmer.
Paul insisted that when the time comes he will “just hoop,” but at some point Monday it will feel like anything but just another game. Paul did not just spend six seasons with the Clippers; he spent six years in which the Clippers went from disgrace to contenders, in which Donald Sterling was exposed and banned from the NBA, in which teammates became “family.”
“First and foremost, it just feels good to be back playing,” Paul said. “Being back is a little different. Little different living here for a while, still having my home. I got my crew here, my parents here, kids here, my brother, my wife, everybody.
“Fortunately, we already played against the Lakers here once. I got a chance to see a lot of people that work there at the Staples Center. This is home. I still come back when the season is
over. I went to Mastros last night with my wife, got to see a lot of people there I do my foundation event with. We’ve got a lot of ties here.”
He has played against a former team, but that was different. He was different. He spent his first six seasons with New Orleans, but the relationships with the Clippers were and remain with the person he is, rather than part of his youth.
Different in Big Easy
“I was younger. It was different,” Paul said. “I had been in New Orleans, and we had been through Katrina, had been through all that type of stuff. There’s a lot of people here in that organization that I was super-duper close with. Like I said, it was not just basketball relationships. Jasen Powell (Clippers longtime trainer) is like part of my family. Like, that’s my dog. You’ve got other people, some of the fans and all that stuff like that. I still talk to Billy Crystal all the time.”
Paul said he talks with Clippers center DeAndre Jordan almost every day and speaks often with Wesley Johnson and assistant coach Sam Cassell.
“D.J. is like my family,” Paul said. “You have teammates over the course of your career, and that’s just what it is, but D.J. is like my family.”
Playing against family would seem different than other games, but Paul insisted that once the game begins, it won’t be different — because of how he treats other games.
“Once you throw the ball up, it’s time to get to business,” he said. “‘Hey, how you doing? What’s up?’ Now let’s get to it.
“I play. I don’t care who it is. I always say I don’t care if I’m playing against little Chris in the house. Let’s get to it.”
Coach Mike D’Antoni said he has no plans to offer guidance about dealing with emotions the game could stir. Paul could be the sort of veteran who doesn’t need such direction, but D’Antoni said he generally never does.
“They’re professional. They can do it,” D’Antoni said. “I just think it will be fun to watch, see if they boo him or not. Other than that, it’s fun. It should be exciting for him. I would hope, what he’s done for them the last six years, they would love him. I wouldn’t be surprised with anything.”
Arguing that Paul should be received well, D’Antoni cited how Paul represents his team and sport. It could help that the Clippers are playing so well despite a run of injuries to rival or even exceed that of the Rockets.
Chance to grow in L.A.
But Paul decided to leave. He was traded, but that was his choice. He said little about his decision other than “it was time.”
“We didn’t win it all,” Paul said of his time in Los Angeles. “That was the point. I’m happy for the times that I had. I had a chance to grow here.
“Coming from New Orleans, getting here and seeing what it was and having the opportunity to do things, there was a lot of great times here. I still wish them the best.”
Asked if it would be nice to be cheered, he did not seem to expect it.
“I mean, it’d be nice if everybody there tomorrow had Rockets gear on, too,” Paul said. “It doesn’t make me nervous because, unfortunately, I’ve been booed before. I don’t know one way or another. I’m going to go out and hoop and have a good time while I do it.”