Before we all found out that Chris Paul was being traded to the Houston Rockets, Paul and the Clippers had a lengthy meeting in which he discussed his future.
Paul reportedly wanted to give the Clippers a chance to get compensated for his departure, rather than simply leaving them to fill the void of his absence. One person that wasn’t present during that meeting, according to Chris Broussard, was The Icon, Jerry West.
Sources: Jerry West was not in yesterday's meeting between CP3 and the Clippers.
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) June 28, 2017
Now, you’d think that West, who is consulting the team now, might have been a key figure in such a meeting. However, perhaps comments that he made regarding Paul and Blake Griffin were the reason he wasn’t in that meeting.
West told TMZ Sports that it is “not my responsibility” to bring Paul and Blake Griffin back into the fold. “I’m just an adviser.” He added, “Hopefully, everyone will make the right decision.”
Additionally, it appears West had already made his opinion known on the matter of Paul and Griffin coming back or leaving.
Wanna know Jerry West's influence on the Clippers? You're seeing it. He was not in favor of the "just bring everyone back" plan.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) June 28, 2017
So what will the new-look Clippers look like? It’s hard to know, but at this point it seems inevitable that a step backwards is in the cards.
The Clippers are reportedly getting guards Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams, forward Sam Dekker and a 2018 first-round pick (protected Nos. 1-3), per Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.
It’s going to be fascinating to watch everything unfold. Will any of it really matter in the end? Can Paul make that much of a difference in Houston that the Warriors should be worried at all? This scribe thinks not, but time will be the judge of that.