Dwight Howard Trolls Chris Paul, Recruits Him to Taiwan After Suns' Loss to Nuggets

The rivalry between Dwight Howard and Chris Paul added another chapter on Thursday night after the Phoenix Suns were eliminated from the playoffs with a 125-100 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals.

A fake quote attributed to Paul made the rounds on social media recently that said he would play in Taiwan with Howard if the Suns didn't win a title this season.

Howard wasted no time tweeting out a message directed at Paul following Thursday's game.

Paul didn't play in the final four games of the series against the Nuggets because of a groin injury he suffered in Game 2.

There was a time when Howard and Paul were formulating a plan to play together. In a November 2012 article for Yahoo Sports, Marc J. Spears reported the two former All-Stars decided on the Dallas Mavericks as an ideal landing spot.

Dallas "explored trades for both players" but didn't have enough "attractive assets" to entice the Orlando Magic (Howard's team at the time) and New Orleans Hornets (Paul's team at the time) to do a deal.

According to Spears, Paul was ready to join the Mavs as a free agent in the summer of 2012 but wanted a commitment from Howard before making a final decision.

"Howard, however, remained indecisive about his future in Orlando and wasn't ready to commit to Paul," Spears wrote. "Frustrated, Paul eventually grew tired of waiting on Howard, gave up on the Dallas plan and asked the Hornets for a trade."

It's unclear if that's the source of the ongoing feud between the two players. Howard told B/R's Taylor Rooks in a November 2021 interview he couldn't remember what started the issues, but he hoped for the opportunity to squash the beef between the two.

Based on Howard's response after Thursday's game, it doesn't seem like they did make peace. It also doesn't seem like he still maintains a desire to make peace with the Suns point guard.

Howard joined the Taoyuan Leopards of the T1 League in Taiwan in November. The 37-year-old averaged 23.2 points and 11.5 rebounds per game in 20 appearances for the club.