Chris Paul has welcomed the opportunity to play alongside Devin Booker on a young Phoenix Suns team after being acquired via trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre Jr., Ty Jerome and Jalen Lecque.
Thursday 3 December 2020 11:19, UK
As Chris Paul gears up to help lead a young Phoenix Suns team this season, the 15-year veteran insists he is there to be more than just a teacher.
The 35-year-old was acquired via a trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this offseason as the Suns looked to provide support for star guard Devin Booker in view of mounting a playoff assault.
Having taken the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schroder under his wing with the Thunder last season, Paul was keen to remind of his desire to challenge as opposed to just mentor while speaking to the media on Wednesday.
"Everyone always talks about what I can teach [Devin Booker] or teach some of these other guys, but they're teaching me at the same time too," Paul told reporters.
"I'm not James Naismith by no means. First things first, I'm not just coming in here trying to teach everybody. I'm his team-mate. We're here to hoop, we're here to compete and that's how I approach this."
Paul rejoins head coach Monty Williams almost 10 years after the pair worked together with the New Orleans Pelicans, at which time both were at the beginning of their respective careers.
Such was the Suns' interest in securing Paul's services that they were prepared to part with Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre Jr., Ty Jerome and Jalen Lecque.
The hope being that the addition of both Paul's contributions to the stats sheet and his leadership could help the team move closer towards a first playoff berth since 2010, having gone unbeaten at 8-0 in the NBA restart to marginally miss out on a postseason slot.
"One thing about my approach, and I'm not saying it's always right, and it's not for everybody, but I never ask you to do something I wouldn't do myself," Paul added.
"I had a coach when I was in Houston, he used to tell me the biggest thing I'd have to battle with is sometimes having guys that don't care as much as I do. But I guarantee you, whatever you see is coming from a good place."
An on-court pairing of Paul and Booker makes for an intriguing prospect in regards to how their chemistry may materialise, with the Suns somewhat reliant on it faring better than that of Paul and James Harden in Houston.
Booker averaged 26.2 points, 6.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game last season, and starred in the bubble with five 30+ points games.
"I've known Book for a long time, and he's not only talented, he's a dog," said Paul. "He's really competitive. I know Book, and when we hoop and play against each other, we be about to fight.
"And then looking at the staff, Monty is an unbelievable person, aside from being a great coach. It was a lot of things here."
For Paul, the inexperience around him in Phoenix bodes well for a team playing without fear.
"The biggest thing I learned last year is you can write your own story," he said. "We didn't care about none of y'all's predictions. We're the one's that's gotta do the work. As long as we're very honest with each other on a daily basis of what we expect from each other, that's all that matters.
"Sometimes it's nice to have a young team because they don't know nothing else but to hoop and to play hard. They're not thinking about when can happen here or what can happen there, and we're just going to roll."
