Everyone knew suspensions and fines would be coming for the Houston Rockets after their tunnel-taking journey into the Los Angeles Clippers locker room, but it appears that the team’s biggest stars were spared suspensions for the incident.
That’s because according to NBA executive vice president Kiki Vandeweghe, the situation between the Clippers and Rockets went down a lot differently than what was initially reported. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Wednesday night that Chris Paul and James Harden will not be suspended following an NBA investigation into the incident on Monday night.
Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green, however, will each serve two-game bans from the league for “aggressively entering” the Clippers’ locker room.
Sources. The NBA is suspending Houston’s Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green two games for aggressively entering Clippers locker room. No penalties for Chris Paul and James Harden.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 17, 2018
Wojnarowski also tweeted that Blake Griffin, the center of much of the conflict between the two teams, will also go without any punishment.
No discipline for Clippers Blake Griffin, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 17, 2018
As for why Paul and Harden weren’t suspended, they were reportedly serving as “peacemakers” in the incident, per those the NBA spoke to during the investigation.
NBA's Kiki Vandeweghe tells ESPN that interviews with 20 people on scene caused them to conclude that Chris Paul and James Harden acted as "peacemakers" and tried to diffuse the situation with Ariza and Green.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 17, 2018
That’s a much different story than what was initially reported, which was that Paul led Rockets players through a secret entrance into the Clippers locker room. In the days since that incident it’s become clear that said entrance is not so secret, and has even been used by Stephen Curry in the past.
NBA's release on the Clipper/Rocket postgame kerfuffle. Trevor Ariza, Gerald Green each suspended two games. pic.twitter.com/zf49m0h9vq
— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) January 17, 2018
The NBA released a statement about the incident on Wednesday night further explaining the suspensions and, in the case of Paul and Harden, lack of suspensions.
During the league’s investigation, which included more than 20 interviews with executives, staff, coaches and players from both teams, as well as arena personal, it was determined that Ariza and Green entered the Clippers’ locker room immediately after the game and engaged in a hostile, verbal altercation with several Clippers players. The league’s investigation further concluded that Rockets players, James Harden and Chris Paul, followed Ariza and Green into the corridor outside the locker room in an effort to defuse the situation, and accordingly, discipline is not warranted.
This isn’t the first time the facts have skewed from the story at Staples Center, either. It was first reported that Rockets forward Clint Capela was part of the ploy to reach the locker room by causing a distraction when he knocked on the door of the main entrance. But on Wednesday it was reported that Capela wasn’t at the door of the Clippers locker room. Instead, it was teammate Tarik Black.
After 20 interviews you have to feel a lot better about what we know about the incident, but it certainly has changed over the last few days. If Chris Paul has gone from ringleader to peacemaker, what’s next? Are there really any tunnels at all in Staples Center? I think it’s safe to say we all still have questions about the incident, some of which may never truly be answered.
