Chris Paul's Former Teammate Gets Brutally Honest on Playing With Him

Chris Paul can be a difficult teammate.

Bob Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Paul is one of the most polarizing players in the NBA. Many players absolutely can't stand him, while many would run through a wall for him. He's not the easiest player to have as a teammate, but he can also be an incredibly rewarding one - DeAndre Jordan knows this firsthand.

During the newest episode of Podcast P by Wave Sports, DeAndre Jordan opened up about his relationship with Chris Paul on the Clippers. It was often reported that the Lob City Clippers didn't like each other, with Paul being at the center of it all, and Jordan explained why Paul can be a controversial player.

“Man, people can say what they want about CP but I think you want CP on your team because he’s gonna fight until the buzzer goes off," DeAndre said. "I think you got a dog like that on your team it’s great to be around because he’s gonna motivate you to be the best player you can be. He’s gonna challenge you which some guys don’t like to be challenged. Let’s get that out in the open some guys don’t like that sh*t."

To DeAndre, even though Chris Paul can rub people the wrong way, it's because Paul wants to win. Chris Paul wants to win so badly that he's willing to get confrontational in a way that other players aren't.

"But Chris is a guy that’s like 'No, I need you to be better so we can be better as a team,' and he wants to be held accountable which is important to have, especially from your point guard. Their voices have to carry," DeAndre said. "But Chris, he expected a lot out of all of us and I think that people get rubbed the wrong way with that and I think when you’re young you’re kind of like  ‘damn, what the f**k.’"

One thing DeAndre Jordan regrets is not taking advantage of his youth even more than he did. There are only so many opportunities to win a championship a player can win in his youthful prime, and it was something Chris Paul knew better than anyone else on the Clippers.

"I think when you get older you start to realize and understand, like that guys get to a certain point and they want to win a championship and they see these opportunities that they had when they were younger slip away, you don’t want those to slip away in a time when you have a great team around you," DeAndre said. "So I’m not gonna do what I did last time and be quiet and let shit slide.  All leaders aren’t liked and that's the thing about being a leader.” 

Not every NBA player can be easy to play with. If Chris Paul had won a championship in his career, the narrative around playing with him would be completely different.