Clippers' coach Doc Rivers downplays Chris Paul turmoil

When the Clippers traded Chris Paul to Houston, many pundits speculated as to what the specific reason was that drove him out of Los Angeles. Well, there's no need to speculate any longer. Head coach Doc Rivers has all the details. At the end of the day, when you lose a CP, it’s a big loss. I thank him for the years he was here. He left because he wanted to be with James Harden. Let’s not get that twisted. I wish him well. I have no problem with that. Do I disagree? Yeah, I think he would have been better served here. But that’s not for me. That’s CP to decide and he decided against that. We’ve heard all the stories about Blake and DJ and Austin. I can’t comment just on Austin because it’s just not right. We’ve heard he left because of all three today. He left because of DJ, he left because of Blake and now he left because of Austin. We know he didn’t leave because of that. There is a lot of speculation on why he left. The one thing I know is he didn’t leave because of any of those three guys. He left because he felt like he would have a better chance to win somewhere else. Chris Paul thanked the LA fans in a tweet, saying "For the past 6 years you all have welcomed not only me but my family. We love all of you." The Clippers receive Lou Williams, Sam Dekker, Patrick Beverley, Montrezl Harrell, Darrun Hilliard, DeAndre Liggins, Kyle Wiltjer, a 2018 first-round pick and future cash considerations.