Sixers tried to trade for Chris Paul?

Doc Rivers apparently almost got a chance to produce the sequel to Lob City.

Sam Amick of The Athletic reported on Friday that the Philadelphia 76ers made a “spirited push” to trade for Chris Paul last offseason. While Philadelphia is even said to have believed that there was some traction on a possible deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the interest from the 11-time All-Star was not mutual. Instead, Paul ended up getting traded to the Phoenix Suns.

Paul, of course, has a lengthy history with Rivers, who was his coach with the LA Clippers for six years. However, the two did not always seem to get along. The Sixers are also now run by Daryl Morey, Paul’s former general manager with the Houston Rockets. But Morey was the one responsible for trading Paul to Oklahoma City in 2019.

The Suns (42-17) and the Sixers (39-20) hold two of the league’s five best records this season. It sounds like it was better for both sides to start anew rather than trying to rekindle a stale old partnership.