The Los Angeles Clippers released Chris Paul after his internal criticism created friction with coaches and teammates during the team’s 5-16 start. League sources told The Athletic that Paul had multiple meetings with team officials regarding concerns about his approach, with one source indicating a request to stop “locker room lawyering.”
President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank met with Paul for three hours beginning at 11 p.m. ET Tuesday in Atlanta. Paul announced his release on social media at 2:40 a.m., writing “Just found out I’m being sent home.”
League sources said Paul’s acerbic criticism was met with increasing resistance from those around him. Head coach Ty Lue and his staff were known to be at wit’s end dealing with Paul. Some teammates took exception to his disparaging tone.
Paul was openly critical of the team in a film session Tuesday, though Frank indicated the decision had already been made. The 40-year-old appeared in 16 games this season, averaging 2.9 points and 3.3 assists in a career-low 14.3 minutes per game.
“It wasn’t working out the way that I had planned and we had planned and it’s unfortunate,” Frank said Wednesday. “You don’t take decisions like this lightly at all. Especially a guy that meant so much to the league and so much our organization, but just felt it was the right decision to make.”
The Clippers signed Paul to a one-year, $3.6 million deal in July after his season with the San Antonio Spurs. Team sources said they managed expectations regarding his reserve role. Frank’s statement announcing Paul’s addition emphasized he would serve as a backup point guard.
“Do I want to see CP go out like this? No, I have a lot of respect for him,” Lue said. “He’s been a friend of mine over the years, and you never want to see a great go out like this, but I’m pretty sure he will find something because he’s a great player. I don’t like it for CP, but it just wasn’t a good fit.”
Paul announced this would be his final NBA season on November 22.