Chris Paul Gets Sent Home: The End of a Clippers Legacy
- Simar Gill
- 23 hours ago
- 3 min read
In an unexpected move, the Los Angeles Clippers announced that Chris Paul was no longer a part of the team on December 3rd. Paul, one of the greatest players in the franchise's history, posted an Instagram story stating that he had just learned he was being sent home to Los Angeles from Atlanta, where the Clippers played the Atlanta Hawks. Shortly after, Clippers President, Lawrence Frank, reached out to ESPN to confirm that Paul was no longer a member of the team.
Chris Paul rejoined the Clippers in late July on a one-year deal. For Paul, this was a chance to return home and finish his career with the franchise he spent six seasons with. ESPN's Shams Charania was informed last month that Paul had plans to retire at the end of this season, his 21st year in the NBA, as a Clipper.
Not only was the move to dismiss Paul highly controversial among fans, it matches the track record of the Clippers. This is the second time that the Clipps had a difficult ending with a star player. A prime example of this was with Blake Griffin, a player who was considered the cornerstone of the franchise, a multiple-time All-Star, and Rookie of the Year in the 2010 season. He was pitched as a "Clipper for life" due to his "Lob City" era with Chris Paul. In 2018, Griffin was unexpectedly traded to the Detroit Pistons just a year after signing his five-year deal with LA. Ironically, Griffin had his best season during his first year with the Pistons. This also led to a domino effect of bad decisions for the Clippers: by trading Griffin, they received a first round pick from the Charlotte Hornets that they used to draft Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was traded less than a year later for Paul George from the OKC Thunder. Though George was an impressive asset to the team, SGA has accomplished much more since the trade. Not only did Gilgeous-Alexander lead the Thunder to their first NBA Championship last season, but the reigning MVP is taking his team to new heights yet again, as the Thunder are the indisputable best team in the league with an historic 24-1 record.
The reported reasons for Paul's departure were due to differing leadership styles and clashes with management. According to Shams Charania, "Paul has been vocal in holding management, coaches and players accountable, which the team felt became disruptive." He added that head coach Ty Lue and Paul had not been on speaking terms for weeks. Overall, the Clippers sent Paul home for attempting to hold a 6-16 team accountable for their underperformance this season.
For a 40-year old star in the NBA that wanted to end his career with the team that meant the most to him, the disrespect from the Clippers management will most likely have consequences. It's hard to see Paul forgiving the Clippers for ruining his retirement announcement and it seems like the organization may have to wait even longer to ever send a Clippers jersey number into retirement since they can't keep a good relationship with their star players.
The question on everyone's mind remains: where will Chris Paul finish his career? Obviously, he does not have the option to return home to the Clippers, so his next best option would be to join a team to win a championship. Some speculate that a possible landing spot for Paul could be with the Dallas Mavericks, as they need point guard leadership for their relatively young team. Others speculate that Paul may rejoin the San Antonio Spurs, as he played 82 games with the franchise last season. Theoretically, this would allow him to mentor young players such as Dylan Harper, the No. 2 pick in this year's draft. Paul has not stated any clear goals and can only be moved after December 15th.
Edited by: Isabella Messerli