Chris Paul says Colin Kapernick is doing a great thing

J.J. Redick brought teammate Chris Paul onto his podcast this week, and they carried out a predictable athlete-to-athlete conversation for close to 55 minutes.

The Clippers guards talked about hating each other when they faced off in college. The next topic was the finer points of physical and mental preparation. From there it was Paul’s legacy as a star point guard, and finally how badly they each want the Clippers to break their “second-round curse” and win an NBA championship.

It was just two teammates casually talking hoops, like we expect they do in the locker room, on the team plane and in breaks during practice. Then they broke that mold — shattered it, even — by diving head-first into problems facing this country.

What followed was a 10-minute candid conversation — between two adults, two fathers — about current social issues, how athletes can evoke change and why actions speak louder than words.

“Because the things that Colin Kaepernick are doing are amazing because it’s continuing the conversation,” Paul said on “The Vertical Podcast With J.J. Redick” in an episode recorded last week. “But I said to [my brand partners], in all honestly, I’m tired of talking about it. We really have to try to make change.”

The conversation shifted when Redick brought up this summer’s ESPYS, where Paul, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade stood together on stage and stressed the importance of social activism. The podcast then veered into the latest headlines, with police shootings in Tulsa and Charlotte and a bombing in New York.

“For you having kids, and for me having kids, right now this is their normal,” Paul said. “Every day I wake up, me and my wife wake up to CNN, and you don’t know what you’re going to see. And yeah, it’s crazy now, but if this continues to happen, what do you think it’s going to be like for our kids?”

Redick’s response was quick and pointed.

“You look into a country that has not as much history of racism, and you look into a country that maybe has better but gun-control laws, and you think about moving there,” Redick, an 11-year veteran, said. “I’m being serious. I’m being dead serious. Chelsea and I have already talked about this. We’re not in a serious planning phase of this, but it’s something you have to consider.”

Both players made it clear that they weren’t speaking against all law enforcement officials. Redick said he recognizes the difficult job they do. Paul said he has family in law enforcement whom he wholly supports.

But Paul also said there needs to be more training required to become a police officer, and insisted that there are decipherable trends.

“You can’t explain all of these shootings,” Paul, a 12-year veteran and the president of the NBA Players’ Assn., said. “You can’t just say it’s coincidence and all the stuff like that.”

With the NBA season approaching, Redick and Paul agreed that athletes should use their platform to promote positive change. Paul said that with social media’s grip on society, and its ability to show full videos of shootings, athletes are more aware of issues and, as a result, more willing to act.

It wasn’t clear whether Redick, Paul or the Clippers plan to do something similar to what Kaepernick and others have, but the conversation is certainly something the two guards want to push forward.

“If we’re in position to do good we should take advantage. The thing I struggle with, how do you go beyond the conversation?” Redick said. “What Kaepernick is doing is great. You can argue all you want about whether it’s disrespectful to the flag, I don’t really care. I think it’s really great.

“He’s going beyond what he saw fit with his donations to charity and hoping to do work in the community. How do we go beyond just saying stuff?”

jesse.dougherty@latimes.com

Twitter: @dougherty_jesse