In a new interview with Sports Illustrated (SI), former Rockets point guard Chris Paul explained why he previously said he was “shocked” by the offseason trade that sent him from Houston to Oklahoma City.

Here’s how Paul characterized the process to SI’s Rohan Nadkarni:

After the season I reached out to the [Rockets] and said, ‘Hey, if you guys want to go in a different direction, let us know now. That way we can figure something out. ’They said we’re not trying to go in a different direction. [Morey] asked me if I wanted to go to Oklahoma City. I said no, and he said, ‘We won’t trade you there, because you chose to come to us from L.A.’ He doesn’t owe me anything, but that’s where the whole communication thing was.

I assumed there was no way a 34-year-old Chris Paul could be happy in Oklahoma City. Then I actually spoke to him.

For @SInow, the return of the Point God, low-hanging narratives, and the $44 million elephant in the room. https://t.co/1iDxGMn7NM — Rohan Nadkarni (@RohanNadkarni) January 21, 2020

A nine-time NBA All-Star, Paul averaged 17.1 points and eight assists in 31.9 minutes per game across two seasons in Houston (2017-19). In his first season, Paul costarred alongside James Harden for a squad that went a franchise-best 65-17 (.793) in the regular season.

Those Rockets then pushed the defending NBA champion Warriors to the brink in the Western Conference Finals before losing Paul to a pulled hamstring, which occurred with the Rockets up 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. With the future Hall of Famer out, the Warriors rallied to take the next two games to win the series, and ultimately, that year’s NBA title.

The Rockets won 12 fewer games in the subsequent 2018-19 season and didn’t return to the conference finals. The 15-year NBA veteran also missed extensive time due to injuries in the regular season.

The team seeming to have stagnated likely played a role in GM Daryl Morey‘s decision to shake things up with the trade sending Paul to the Thunder (along with future draft assets) for Russell Westbrook.

While Westbrook has played quite well for the Rockets, and he seems to be a good fit alongside Harden, it’s Paul who might get the last laugh. Paul didn’t initially want to go to Oklahoma City, but the Thunder (25-20) have wildly exceeded expectations so far this season and are currently No. 7 in the Western Conference playoff race — only two games behind the Rockets (26-16).

☔️ C P 3 ☔️ Chris Paul erupts for 27 1st half PTS (20 in Q2) for the @okcthunder at Toyota Center! #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/iDRZzvS8KR — NBA (@NBA) January 20, 2020

The Thunder have also defeated the Rockets in two of the teams’ three meetings since the trade, headlined by Monday’s wild comeback victory in Houston. Moving forward, thanks to the Paul-Westbrook deal, the Thunder have two of Houston’s first-round draft picks and two pick swap rights over a four-year span (2023-26).

Though he was traded in part due to injury concerns, the now 34-year-old Paul has yet to miss a game this season and leads the overachieving Thunder as the starting point guard.

Chris Paul says there’s “no chance” he’d opt out of his contract to be traded to a championship contender https://t.co/reIWzDRuLF — Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 21, 2020

With the 2019-20 season over halfway complete, the Thunder are nearly level with the Rockets in the standings — and they’re much better positioned for the future with all of those picks from the deal.

So even if there were some hard feelings initially based on the perception of the Thunder as a rebuilding team and the Rockets as a self-proclaimed championship contender, the winning seems to have smoothed things over in what’s become a renaissance season for Paul.

From the Rockets’ perspective, ESPN’s Marc J. Spears recently cited a team source who said Morey told Paul there was a “slim chance” he could be dealt to the Thunder, and that message could have been misinterpreted by Paul’s camp as a total denial.

It seems apparent that Morey canvassed the league for a potential third-team partner in the Westbrook trade to accept Paul, after learning of his desire to avoid the Thunder. However, Morey may not have found any takers due to Paul’s large contract. Based on their desire to add Westbrook, the Rockets then seemingly made the hard choice to go forward with the move, anyway.

Houston hoped to find third-team destination preferable to Chris Paul, but ultimately leaves it OKC to execute next step once Presti confers w/ CP3 agent Leon Rose. Miami remains possibility for Paul (3 years, $124M) — and OKC obviously has picks to incentivize deal, if needed. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 12, 2019

Even if Houston went back on its word, the top priority for nearly all NBA teams is doing whatever it takes to upgrade their roster — which Paul appears to understand. Once he signed a four-year max contract with the Rockets in July 2018, he gave up control.

“He doesn’t owe me anything,” Paul said of Morey in Tuesday’s story.

But considering Paul chose Houston as his destination upon leaving the Los Angeles Clippers in June 2017, and given his long-time status as one of the league’s best and most respected players, it’s understandable why the Rockets wanted to consider Paul’s wishes, if at all possible.

Whatever the case, based on his new team’s performance this season, it seems clear that Paul is very happy with the Thunder … now. And maybe that means the story line won’t drag out moving forward.

Barring an unlikely playoff matchup, the Rockets and Thunder will not meet again until the 2020-21 NBA season.