Trevor Ariza on Chris Paul: ‘Sometimes being a leader is lonely’

Trevor Ariza said Chris Paul’s direct approach to leadership was part of a relationship in which both men could speak openly, as he discussed his former Houston teammate on Out The Mud.

In a clip published October 2 from the podcast hosted by Tony Allen and Zach Randolph, Allen asked whether Paul’s vocal style could rub teammates the wrong way.

“Sometimes being a leader is lonely,” Ariza said. “But if you the leader, your job is to make people uncomfortable, make people look at whatever it is.”

“We have a relationship where we can be honest and open with each other. And those are the relationships that usually grow,” he said.

“And he’s not one of them people that you can’t tell him things about himself,” Ariza said. “And that’s big right there.”

To illustrate Paul’s advice, Ariza described hypothetical choices about taking a familiar shot or finding a teammate shooting 47% from a particular spot. He also walked through changing defensive assignments so one player did not have to cover both the roller and two shooters.

Revisiting Houston’s 2018 series

Ariza and Paul were Houston teammates in 2017–18. In the 2018 Western Conference finals, the Rockets led Golden State 3–2 before losing the last two games. Paul missed Games 6 and 7 with a right hamstring strain; the Warriors won the deciding game 101–92.

Ariza recalled the physical defense Houston used against Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, with himself and P.J. Tucker among the players who could guard multiple positions.

“Be physical with them. Let Draymond do all the scoring,” Ariza said.