Chris Paul is easily the face of the Los Angeles Clippers franchise. The point guard signed a large contract this offseason to cement himself as the leader of the team. The Clippers front office knew that if a championship was ever going to happen, Paul was the guy to win it. However, when asked who was the key to the Clippers' title dreams, the point guard said forward Blake Griffin.
"Blake is one of those guys, where his age has nothing to do with anything," Paul said to ESPNLosAngeles.com. "People may say he's a young guy, but he's been special in this league, he's been an All Star. His voice carries a lot of weight and I think our team will definitely go as Blake goes."
Griffin and Paul have not always seen eye-to-eye when it comes to the way things are run on the court. The two teammates spent a fair amount of time together over the summer building a stronger bond and relationship that Paul believes will really translate onto the court.
"It's been a great summer for us. I think we've both had an opportunity to grow," Paul said. "As you get older you realize it's all about winning and I think we both realize we really need each other in order to do that."
Griffin has emerged as one of the NBA's stars in recent years. He made his third-straight All-Star team this past season, while averaging 18.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Griffin's stats continue to better with each year he is in the league and a lot of that can be credited to Paul and his point guard skill set.
Paul understands that in order to win a championship, it will be a total team effort. His nice five-year, $107 million contract extension means nothing without the rest of the team involved. Besides Griffin, newly signed players like J.J. Redick, Jared Dudley and Darren Collison will be essential to a title to run. Not to mention, the team has newly acquired head coach Doc Rivers holding the clipboard.
"It's something I think about every day. I'm going to keep fighting until something gives. Ricky Bobby said it best," Paul said. " 'If you're not first you're last' and I've been last the past eight seasons."
