"He broke up a happy home without even knowing that" - Kendrick Perkins on how Chris Paul sparked Celtics feud

Chris Paul's announcement of his retirement after the 2025-26 season has brought back many memories, especially among the players he competed against during the height of his Point God powers. For all of his highlights and crunchtime heroics, former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins doesn't remember any of those.

Instead, what he does recall was how Paul's greatness helped break up the core of the Boston Celtics.

Boston was poised to dominate

After the Celtics won it all in 2008, thanks to their veteran "Big 3" of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, along with the emergence of do-it-all guard Rajon Rondo, Perkins believed their team would dominate the NBA for a while.

However, history shows that the 2008 title was their only one, and according to Perkins, it was all because of Paul.

At that time, Paul was in his third NBA season and had established himself as the best point guard in the league. He placed second in the MVP race and was named to the All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams. To make a long story short, CP was the type of guard who could help deliver more championships, especially when playing with a veteran core.

Allen recognized this, and Perkins alleged that the sharpshooter lobbied the front office to try to acquire Paul, even if it meant trading away Rondo.

"He broke up a happy home without even knowing that he broke up a happy home, right? He started beef with the Boston Celtics, not even knowing that he started beef. That's how great he was in New Orleans, right?" Perk said on the "Road Trippin'" podcast.

"So I will say this about CP3, man. He started the breakup with the Celtics. He started the beef between Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen. There's a reason that they had to get on gloves in the weight room and fight each other because of the tension," Perk continued. "Because Ray was lobbying to trade for CP3 all during that time where CP3 was trying to get to the Lakers and he ended up on the Clippers. And the word had got back to Rondo."

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Jefferson praises CP's impact on his teams

The podcast's co-host, Richard Jefferson, though, said he will always hold Paul in the highest regard, mainly because of his incredible ability to raise a franchise's ceiling. From the New Orleans Hornets to the Los Angeles Clippers, the Houston Rockets, and most notably, the Phoenix Suns, a team he led to the NBA Finals in 2022, Paul consistently managed to get the best out of everyone on his teams.

"The ultimate compliment of a player is when you show up, your team gets better. Jason Kidd was one of those players. I think, you know, CP is one of those players. The type of player that like when you show up, everyone's job gets easier, everyone's job gets better," Jefferson quipped.

"You look at what he did in Houston and James (Harden) won the MVP in Houston, right? You go and look at him showing up in OKC and what they were able to accomplish," the former NBA champ continued. "The fact that we can look at the way you play and it elevates everyone around you — that is a special human being."

Sadly, it appears that Paul will be one of those all-time greats who will end his NBA career without a ring. Although a lot can still happen this season, his current squad, the Clippers, looks rudderless. Additionally, he's playing the fewest minutes of his career and posting career lows across the board, including shooting an abysmal 28.2 percent from the field.

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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Nov 26, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.