The Los Angeles Clippers were thrilled when they completed the deal to get head coach Doc Rivers from the Boston Celtics, as they knew it would give them a better chance to keep Chris Paul and according to one report, they have no idea how much better a chance it gave them.
According to Bill Simmons at Grantland, Paul was actually close to signing with the Rockets and threatened the Clippers that he would leave for Houston after the first Doc Rivers deal blew up. The team tried to get Rivers over in various different deals that may have included Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, but many failed before the deal actually happened. Simmons says that Paul told the Clippers to get the deal done or he would sign with the Rockets.
The trade went through and Paul officially decided to stay with a $107 million extension and obviously the rest is history. While the Clippers likely would have made a big play for Paul if he came close to signing with the Rockets, but after taking care of business with Rivers, the team knew it was in good standing.
The team continued to do work over the summer and after adding Paul the Clippers brought back Matt Barnes and also added Jared Dudley and JJ Redick in a deal with the Bucks and the Suns that sent Eric Bledsoe to Phoenix.
Simmons wrote: "To Chris Paul, who basically told the Clippers that after they squashed the first incarnation of their Doc Rivers trade. Chris didn't like that. He let them know he was heading to Houston to team up with Dwight. And he wasn't kidding. For about 36 hours, Morey probably felt like all 11 guys in "Ocean's Eleven." You know what happened next: The Clippers blinked, the Doc trade got revived and finished, and the Clippers were offering Chris 107 million reasons to play for him. Crisis averted. The lesson, as always: Chris Paul runs the Clippers."
