Chris Paul gets brutally honest about his failed move to the Lakers back in 2011 that would have formed a duo with Kobe Bryant.
In 2011, Chris Paul was on the brink of joining the Los Angeles Lakers to form a superstar duo with the late, great Kobe Bryant. Then-league commissioner David Stern decided to veto the deal, though, and eventually CP3 ended up on the Lakers’ crosstown rivals in the Los Angeles Clippers.
To this day, it is clear that Paul, who now plies his trade with the Phoenix Suns, still holds a lot of regret over that failed move. The biggest what-if for the 38-year-old is how successful he could have been alongside Kobe in Hollywood:
“Kob is just special,” Paul said. “… Me and Kob was just wired the same. His talent was outrageous but when played against each other, we was about to fight just about every time just because we was both on the same energy. … I hate that that opportunity didn’t get to happen, especially at that point in my career. I always knew how good Kobe was even at catch-and-shoot, but he’s never got the chance to show that part of his game. Had we got a chance to play together, I think it could have been fun.”
Chris Paul also revealed that he and Bryant had already spoken on the phone as the trade was officially announced. It seems that both stars were convinced that it was a done deal, and there’s no doubt that both of them were extremely excited to be playing alongside each other. David Stern had other ideas, though.
It all still worked out for the Lakers, with LA eventually recruiting Pau Gasol. He and Kobe won two championships to mark Bryant’s fourth and fifth titles with the Lakers.