Chris Paul Nearly Joined The LeBron James-Dwyane Wade Miami Heat Super Team, But It All Fell Apart Because He Demanded To Wear Wade's Number 3
A lot of the time NBA drama can seem fake and made up. The circus-like storylines that come out of the league are continuously insane. Divas and grudges being held to endless levels left and right. Remember the Clippers-Rockets tunnel fight that required police presence?
Another example of the NBA circus? How about a star player refusing to change jersey numbers and subsequently blowing up a trade that would have formed a league shattering big three? Of course it involved Chris Paul.
Now some of that may come off as a joke, but knowing what we know about CP3, that 100% was a legitimate hold up. The number 3. Dude just couldn't wear anything else.
Some of the great NBA what-ifs: Len Bias, Derrick Rose, Tim Duncan-Orlando Magic, and Chris Paul wanting to wear the number 3. Maybe we don't think about being CP3 being a perennial loser if he was simply ok wearing a number like 5 or 33. Instead he held onto it, stood his ground, and went onto fail everywhere he went, becoming one of the more unlikable players in the league. Ryen Russillo punching air right now.
The lack of self awareness Chris Paul had to have to demand number 3 from Dwyane Wade upon joining the Miami Heat is incredible to think about. Yeah why don’t you have Gabrielle Union too! Take everything. And yes, the number 3 is squarely in Chris Paul's CP3 nickname. He was one of, if not the best point guard in the game back then. He still had no right to demand Wade's number when he'd be joining his team to chase a ring. Like imagine A-Rod coming to the Yankees, but demanding Babe Ruth's 3 to be un-retired? It's a laughable idea.
Looking back from Wade's perspective, probably the best decision he ever made, right? For starters bending the knee like that is soft. He's coming to you, this is your team and your city. You don't just hand off 3 like that, even if it's going to make you look like a good teammate to the public.
On top of that, is it crazy to think the trio of CP3-Bron-Wade does worse than Bron-Wade-Bosh? Based on the minimal money they had left to spend on the rest of the team, building out a front court on scraps probably wouldn't be ideal. Bosh's impact gets so slept on because he simply wasn't the other two guys. I mean they don't beat the Spurs in 2013 without his offensive rebound and kick out to Ray Allen in the corner. Dude happily took a back seat to LeBron and Wade in terms of credit, but deep down I think they all know how important he was to their success. Swap him out for Chris Paul and there's no telling if they win any of those titles. Listen, it's still Wade and LeBron so I'm sure they would have won something, but for the sake of the what-if scenario it's fun to imagine CP3 holding them back. All avoided because he refused to switch numbers. The NBA is so stupid, I love it so much.
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P.S. If Wade just made this story up to get clicks and listens to his show I respect that whole heartedly