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What's the story?
Tensions flaring between two teammates is nothing new in the NBA. From the Kobe-Shaq beef to the Kyrie-LeBron saga in Cleveland, we have often seen two star players drifting apart and not wanting to play with each other.
A similar report concerning Chris Paul and James Harden of the Houston Rockets was released earlier today as Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports claimed that the relationship between the two stars has become "unsalvageable".
Paul has since taken to social media and disregarded this report.
In case you didn't know...
Chris Paul joined the Houston Rockets in 2017 in a blockbuster trade which saw the Clippers receive seven players and a future first-round draft pick in exchange. Paul helped the team to the no. 1 seed in the West. The Rockets then fell to a subsequent 7-game Conference Finals loss to the Golden State Warriors with Paul missing the series decider due to injury. He would then go on to sign a 4-year $160 million extension.
Struggling from injuries, CP3 failed to have the same impact this year with the Rockets again getting ousted in the playoffs against the Warriors.
The heart of the matter
Several outlets had earlier stated that the 9-time All-Star had requested for a trade from the Houston management. Vincent Goodwill then reported that James Harden had subsequently asked the front office to choose between him and Paul.
Bleacher Report went on to run this report on their Instagram handle. CP3 came across the post and refuted the claim in the comments section stating:
"Damn! That's news to me..."
You can check out a screen grab of the post below.
What's next?
While it definitely seems that things are not as bad in H-Town as recent rumors may suggest, there's still no guaranteeing that Paul will remain a Rocket come October. Houston has failed to make the NBA Finals with Paul in the last two years and his huge contract doesn't help the franchise's cause either.
Things may certainly seem normal between The Beard and CP3 right now, but one can't be faulted for thinking that the Rockets could try to move a 34-year-old Paul in order to clear some cap space. Teams who would be desperate to make it to the playoffs - such as the Charlotte Hornets for instance - could easily be lured into taking on his contract.
