Chris Paul on Referee Scott Foster: 'That's Who They Pay to See'

The ongoing feud between NBA players and game officials continued Wednesday night when Chris Paul called out Scott Foster for assessing him a technical foul in the fourth quarter of the Houston Rockets' 121-112 win over the Portland Trail Blazers at Toyota Center.

"Scott Foster at his finest. Never fails," Paul told reporters in the locker room, according to ESPN.com's Tim MacMahon. "... I got a tech tonight. I'm over there with [referee] Courtney [Kirkland] saying 'That's Scott. That's Scott.' And I get a tech. There's history there. He's the man. That's who they pay to see."

According to a January 2016 survey conducted by the Los Angeles Times' Broderick Turner, a collection of over 30 players and coaches voted Foster as the league's worst referee.

"You can't talk to him. He's never wrong," an anonymous player told Turner. "I like refs where they say, 'You know what, I made a mistake. I saw it at halftime. You were right.' But Scott Foster thinks he never makes a mistake. The players see the stats of how he is on the road. He always helps the road team out. He loves to stick it to teams."

Paul's displeasure with Foster represents the continuation of a trend that has seen the relationship between players and officials reach contentious new heights through a series of ejections, including Shaun Livingston's physical clash with Kirkland during a December game against the Miami Heat.

To try to resolve the issue, players and referees are planning to sit down and meet during All-Star Weekend in February.

"(The meeting) is shaping up," National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts told USA Today's Sam Amick on Wednesday. "The conversations will not be open to the public. I think if the aim is to have candid discussion between the players in attendance and the officials in attendance, I think it needs to be done without a third party, including, frankly, even perhaps me or others being there."