Chris Paul and Dwight Howard Admit They Wanted to Play Together


Long before each player was traded, there had been rumors that Chris Paul and Dwight Howard wanted to team up (they just couldn’t agree on which team that would be on.) CP3 and Dwight come clean about their discussions regarding a potential partnership, via Yahoo! Sports: “Chris Paul didn’t want to go to Orlando. Dwight Howard didn’t want to go to New Orleans. But Paul and Howard knew this much: A little more than a year ago, they wanted to play together. Never, however, could they agree on a plan that would unite the NBA’s best point guard with its best center. Paul and Howard now find themselves in the same city, albeit playing for rival franchises. Howard came to the Lakers this past summer while Paul is beginning his second season with the Clippers. Both are set to become free agents at the end of this season, raising the question of whether they might make one more effort to team up. The answer from both All-Stars: Don’t count on it. ‘We were trying to play together, but it didn’t work out,’ Howard said. Sources close to both players said Howard and Paul settled on the Dallas Mavericks as an ideal destination, knowing owner Mark Cuban had the means to clear salary-cap space for them. The Mavericks explored trades for both players, but didn’t have attractive enough assets to make a deal. […] Paul was all in for joining the Mavericks as a free agent in 2012, but he wanted a commitment Howard also had interest, sources said. Howard, however, remained indecisive about his future in Orlando and wasn’t ready to commit to Paul. Frustrated, Paul eventually grew tired of waiting on Howard, gave up on the Dallas plan and asked the Hornets for a trade. After the Clippers acquired Paul prior to the start of last season, Paul opted into the final year of his contract for the 2012-13 season, postponing his free agency by a year. Howard then surprised everyone in March when he agreed to sign a waiver for the Magic, opting into his contract for the 2012-13 season and also delaying his free agency. ‘We always wanted to play together,’ Howard said of Paul. ‘It didn’t happen that way.'”