DEMANDING LEADER
Paul: Demanding approach ‘coming from a good place’
Former teammates and coaches explain how demanding and competitive new Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul (center) really is.
Blake Griffin wanted clarification first. “Demanding is I think the word you used?” Griffin asked.
That’s how people have described Chris Paul’s interaction with teammates over his illustrious NBA career. He’s in their face, telling them what do and how to do it 24/7. Seems overbearing.
Difficult to handle.
Griffin, who was Paul’s teammate for six seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, sees it from a different perspective as he’s now a leader with the Detroit Pistons.
“When you’re trying to win a basketball game, it’s a full-time thing and there’s no detail that can go overlooked and that was one of the big things I took from him is that his attention to detail throughout the course of a game and in preparation for a game is almost unmatched,” Griffin said.
Griffin was in his second NBA season he played when Paul arrived in 2011-12 from New Orleans. They had interactions that still resonate with him years later.
“On top of being very competitive, going into every game expecting to win, all those things together, with his level of talent, that’s what I took away,” Griffin continued. “You see one of the best players, one of the best talents in the NBA every night not only giving 100% effort, but then also doing the prep work. Not just taking care of his body, but knowing what we want going into each game. Knowing what plays to call. How to manage the game and all that.”
“When you’re a point guard, I always say I’ve always been vertically challenged so I haven’t ever played any other position. So what you do is you learn over the years who you can get on, who you sort of got to be a little easier with.”
Chris Paul Suns point guard
That is Chris Paul, the player Phoenix acquired during the abbreviated off-season, in exchange sending four players, including starters Ricky Rubio and Kelly Oubre Jr., along with a future first-round pick to Oklahoma City.
The all-star veteran point guard is certainly demanding, but that’s fueled by being highly competitive and wanting to win more than anyone else on the court.
“When you’re a point guard, I always say I’ve always been vertically challenged so I haven’t ever played any other position,” Paul said with a laugh, during his first meeting with the media Wednesday since being traded to Phoenix.
“So what you do is you learn over the years who you can get on, who you sort of got to be a little easier with, but one thing about my approach, and I’m not saying that it’s always right and it’s not for everybody, but I never asked you do something I wouldn’t do myself.”
Besides, when did demanding of a teammate become a problem?
Suns coach Monty Williams is trying to figure that out.
“There’s a negative connotation with demanding from your teammates,” he said. “I think all great players, all good players, in one way or another, demand from their team.”
Williams just had a conversation with Paul about this, as he thinks they both were “headstrong” during their one season together in New Orleans in 2010-11.
It was Williams’ first year as a head coach and Paul’s sixth NBA season. They’ve matured over the years, but Williams is all for Paul imposing his will on the team.
“As we all grow in these roles, we figure out how to demand,” Williams said. “I think that’s an area where Chris has matured and grown and understands the personalities of the people he plays with, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”
Besides, Williams has the same quality.
“He’s demanding and he’ll follow through and make people accountable, but he will talk to people,” Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said about Williams. “He will know what buttons to push.”
And he’ll have someone running team with that same mentality.
“He’s just a second coach in the court,” said Atlanta Hawks forward Danilo Gallinari, who played with Paul last season in OKC.
“He’s very smart. You don’t approach the game just to play basketball, but you actually analyze offensively and defensively every aspect.”
Gallinari experienced what Williams already knows and what the Suns will find out about Paul.
“Chris is a great leader,” he said. “He was a very vocal leader. Not just vocal, but he was doing stuff on the court and every day in practice not just to talk about it, but show everybody what needs to be done to win.”
‘Coming from a good place’
Paul’s way is bound to rub some the wrong way, but those who know him say it’s coming from a good place.
“It’s probably bad when you don’t care enough to demand,” Williams said. “You might not like the way he does it sometimes, but I think if you look at his heart and intention, you’ll see a guy that might be one of the most competitive people you will be around. I witnessed it for myself. I’d rather have that than guys who don’t want to win. Guys who are happy coming out of the game. Guys who don’t work. I’d rather have this than the opposite.”
Paul was the catalyst to taking an OKC team that traded away its two best players – Paul George and Russell Westbrook – and leading the Thunder to a fifth seed in last season’s NBA playoffs in his one season there.
He may have the same impact on the Suns, who like the Thunder have youth in key positions. Phoenix hasn’t made the playoffs since 2010.
“Adding Chris makes them better,” said new Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan, who coached Paul in OKC last season.