When Chris Paul signed a one-year, $3.6 million contract with the Clippers last July, many in the industry that this was the perfect retirement tour.
“I was extremely grateful. You saw I was emotional when I went back. I knew it was my last year and I was getting to play in front of my family,” Paul said this past weekend on Carmelo Anthony’s “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast.
That never happened.
Amidst a 5-16 start to the season, the Clippers shockingly sent Paul home and told him to not come back. The decision came after a tough loss to the Heat and Miami, which was followed by a meeting with Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank.
He has since announced his retirement from the NBA.
Now Paul is telling his truth, and he couldn’t care less. He went into great detail on the podcast about what led to his split from the franchise he became best associated with.
Among the biggest issues the Clippers front office had was his leadership skills, which had been widely regarded as some of the best in the league throughout Paul’s career. The Clippers clearly didn’t want Paul giving advice to his teammates.
“During training camp, I talked to one of my teammates for a while and then, as soon as I went in the meal room, somebody came and told me they didn’t want me giving players advice, Paul said. “So I told them, ‘You were my assistant coach, I know you.’ But it was a lot of back-and-forth.”
While it’s unknown who Paul was speaking about in reference to “my assistant coach,” there’s a good possibility it was directed at current head coach Ty Lue, who was an assistant coach with the Clippers when Paul played there earlier in his career. It’s been reported that Paul and Lue never saw eye-to-eye on Paul’s role when he signed with the team this final season, clashing multiple times throughout the season.
Paul also went into detail about his relationship with Frank, detailing the mixed messages he received.
“Earlier in the season, Lawrence Frank sent me an article about how great my leadership was, an article I had never seen,” he said. “He texted it to me saying, ‘Man, this is great leadership right here.’”
But one of the most damning things Paul said was how Lue apparently refused to meet with his veteran point guard, all but sealing Paul’s fate.
“Before I left the room, I asked him, ‘So L-Frank, you said you was gonna get me a meeting with T-Lue, right?’ He said, ‘I’m sorry, I couldn’t do that. Go home.’”
Paul played for LA for seven seasons from 2011-2017, and became the NBA’s best point guard during the time, helping ignite a city’s love for its team. Led by Doc Rivers, the Clippers were armed with big men DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin and sharpshooters JJ Redick and Jamal Crawford.
Although they ever made a Western Conference Finals during Paul’s time with the team, the Clippers became one of the most exciting brands in basketball and were affectionately known as “Lob City.”
During his time in Los Angeles, Paul averaged 18.2 points, 9.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. Over the span of his career, Paul averaged 16.8 points, 9.2 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.
So it all made sense that Paul would “play” his final season in Los Angeles and get the retirement tour he so rightfully deserved in his 21st NBA season.
However, it never played out that way, which is a sad ending for one of the best players of his generation.