October 26th: Clippers guard Chris Paul recently gave an exclusive interview to reporter Marc J. Spears.
Was it a simple choice for you to choose the Clippers or retire this summer?
Basically, to some extent, yes...everyone's normal situation is different. I've been very fortunate to have played for so long. I've created a good income for myself and my family. But one thing I always think about is time. Time is irreversible. Unfortunately, what we often see is these tragic events or certain things happen to people, and everyone says, "Damn, I had no idea this would happen."
I always think about how long I want to play and whether I want to continue playing, because I think about my family. And I don't just mean my immediate family. I have a lot of cousins and relatives who live back home in North Carolina, and I don't get to see them.
I always think about my little cousins who would say, "I'm Chris Paul's cousin" when they went to school. I was like that when I was a kid. I often tell people that (former NBA star) Larry Nance is my cousin because I saw him at a family reunion when I was little. I also think about my cousins, uncles, aunts, and other people who, to some extent, don't recognize me anymore.
Since I haven't been home for 20 years, I'm thinking about spending time with my grandmother, grandfather, and grandparents. And, as simple as it sounds, I want to play golf with my dad. My dad golfs a lot. I probably played golf with my dad two or three times last summer.
So, in addition to everything else going on in life, I'm just trying to figure out how to spend more time with my family.
With that in mind, does this mean this is your last NBA season?
No. I'm just saying these things are part of my thought process. Yeah, I don't know the answer to that.
For me, I'm just going to continue to play it by ear and see how things play out. Who knows? My parents might move here (to Los Angeles). But I know for sure that my parents are unlikely to leave Winston-Salem (North Carolina). I know I'm lucky to at least have the opportunity to consider this.
