Hornets coach Monty Williams says Chris Paul never asked the team for a trade.

New Orleans named Williams their new head coach in early July and soon after Paul rumors begin to kick up.

"You can say it has settled down now, but it was settled before that," Williams told Sporting News.

"For me, it was never an issue. Chris never said anything about a trade. He never asked for a trade. He wants us to be a better team, but we all want that and Dell [Demps] and I are going to do all that we can to make it a better team. We're going to make this a better team with Chris here."