Between the Chris Paul-threw-a-party-and-no-one-came narrative and the NBA trade rumors, the Clippers are still playing basketball. And not doing it well.
The team is on a four-game losing streak and has lost nine of its past 10 games after an embarrassing loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night. The Clippers continue to struggle defensively, can’t sustain leads, they turn the ball over at an alarming rate (15.4 per game) and face a real possibility of not winning again in 2025.
The Clippers (6-20) start the final stretch of December on Thursday night at the Oklahoma City Thunder, the league’s top team. The Thunder have lost just twice this season, most recently to the San Antonio Spurs in the semifinals of the NBA Cup and could be ready to get back on track against the woeful Clippers, who are tied for 14th in the Western Conference, after four days off.
The Clippers close out the calendar year with home games against the Lakers (18-7) on Saturday and the Houston Rockets (16-7) on Dec. 23, a road game against the Portland Trail Blazers (10-16) on Dec. 26, then home games against the Detroit Pistons (21-5) on Dec. 28 and the Sacramento Kings (6-20) on Dec. 30.
And in that scenario, Coach Tyronn Lue appears to have run out of answers.
“I think most of the time we’re trying,” he said.
Lue then added what everyone around the league knows.
“I think teams are faster than us. I think teams are bigger than us and we have got to become even more scrappy. So, just mentally when things go wrong, we got to have the mental stability just to do things tougher, do things harder, not let go of the rope,” he said.
“You could do everything and still lose or do everything and the team still scores, but you got to stay with it and do it harder. And that’s the mindset that we have to have.”
Focusing on winning has become more difficult for the current roster with each loss and each trade rumor. Most notably is the one involving center Ivica Zubac, who is seen to be the Clippers’ most attractive trade chip.
And with losing comes drama, and Paul’s dismissal earlier this month being the storyline that continues to dog the organization. Players are still being asked for their reaction to the news of the veteran being sent home and social media continues to speculate on his future.
The Clippers have the option of waiving him and paying out the remainder of his $3.6 million salary, agreeing to a buyout or trading him.
Kawhi Leonard said on Sunday he was shocked at the news and backed Paul as a positive influence in the locker room.
“Surprised at it. He’s always been a willing teammate when I’ve spoke to him,” Leonard said earlier this week. “Only thing I could talk about is our conversations. And they’ve always been positive and team-forward. I didn’t have nothing to do with it. I didn’t even know what was going on.”
Even NBA commissioner Adam Silver weighed in.
“I’d love to see him finish off the season on another team,” Silver told ESPN on Tuesday, declining to comment on how the Clippers handled the situation.
Two weeks ago, team president Lawrence Frank flew to Atlanta and sent Paul home after a late-night meeting.
Paul’s return to the Clippers was expected to be a feel-good full circle moment for the 12-time All-Star, who returned to the team he impacted the most. Instead, he reportedly grew frustrated with the team’s defensive play, argued with assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy and criticized the team’s lackadaisical play, giving way to rising tensions, according to ESPN.
Paul attempted to soothe the situation by inviting players and staffers to a Halloween party, but few attended.
“The organization just made the decision to do it,” Lue said of moving on from Paul. “But we gotta move on, because we gotta try to win some games. … nobody wants to see him gone like that. So, nothing’s changed – just gotta go win games.”
CLIPPERS AT THUNDER
When: Thursday, 5 p.m. PT
Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Okla.
TV/Radio: FDSN SoCal, 570 AM