Too controlling! Reports say Harden and Leonard have long grown tired of Paul and feel relieved about his departure.

On December 7th Beijing time, according to NBA reporter Mathur, sources disclosed,Clippers stars Leonard and Harden have long been "annoyed" by Paul .

The report stated that Paul was sent home by the Clippers during the team's trip to Atlanta to play the Hawks, having repeatedly blamed players, coaches, and management. Leonard and Harden did not demand the Clippers to part ways with Paul, butthe two future Hall of Famers felt "relieved" that the point guard was no longer part of the team .

Sources revealed that Paul used to constantly nag Leonard. At first, Leonard didn't mind Paul's advice because he respected him both as a player and personally.

However, sources said the nagging became too frequent, and Leonard felt Paul was incessantly "nagging." Earlier, reporter Haynes also mentioned that during a game against the Mavericks, Paul privately suggested Leonard switch from guarding Klay to switching defenses.

The report also noted,During the offseason when the Clippers discussed Paul's signing with Harden, Harden was not fully on board because he already knew working with Paul would be difficult.Harden had been teammates with Paul on the Rockets, where they clashed multiple times.

In 2019, Harden requested the Rockets trade Paul to the Thunder in exchange for Westbrook because he no longer wanted to play alongside Paul and believed Westbrook could help him win his first championship. Although the Rockets did not win the title in the 2019-20 season, Harden and Westbrook had no conflicts.

Sources said Leonard and Harden told reporters they were "shocked" by the Clippers' decision to sever ties with Paul, but that was not true. Both stars had known this was coming and had agreed to it.

Reporter Wenhorst also discussed Paul's controlling nature on his latest podcast, explaining that while it can solve some problems, it also makes him easily rub people the wrong way. Here is Wenhorst's report—

Essentially, Chris Paul is extremely outspoken. Over the past 20 years, his teammates and coaches have consistently called him the team leader. Any footage of Paul's games over the last two decades shows him voicing opinions to referees, shouting at opposing coaches, debating with his own coach, advising star players, directing role players' positioning, and even instructing trainers and ball boys — and that's just what the cameras capture.

This is Chris Paul's true nature. As a star point guard who almost always improves his team, this trait was an "added feature" the team accepted when signing him. A point guard is supposed to command teammates like a quarterback in football, directing tactics. It was Paul who took initiative, meeting with Bob Iger in the Hollywood Hills and leading the push that resulted in the NBA bubble, which reflects his style of operation.

Whenever he sees a problem to solve, Paul steps up to handle it. His teams have been consistently successful over the past 20 years, making the playoffs for 14 to 15 consecutive seasons without major underperformance. Maybe in one or two seasons they didn't advance far or dropped from second to fourth place, but overall, his teams have been strong and he has always been a key player. Last season with the Spurs, he started all 82 games as the primary point guard.

However,this season his situation is completely different: he is still the controlling Paul, but now serves as the team's backup point guard, sometimes even the third option; the team has not maintained its previous strength but instead has performed poorly, far below expectations. I believe when a former starting point guard and near Hall of Famer now plays backup but maintains his old leadership style, the locker room chemistry inevitably becomes delicate.So far this season, Paul has played 16 games, averaging 2.9 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game, with shooting percentages of 32.1% from the field, 33.3% from three, and 50.0% from the free-throw line.