Blake Griffin has finally spoken about this Chris Paul–Los Angeles Clippers drama, and it should surprise no one that he is on his former teammate’s side. Griffin was asked about the situation on NBA on Prime, and he was critical of the Clippers and team owner Steve Ballmer for disrespecting Paul.
“Chris Paul for 20 years has been the same player,” Griffin said. “He’s been about winning and re-signing with the Clippers; this was supposed to be his moment… And for him to not get to walk out on his own terms from the franchise that he chose to go to to end his career, is extremely disappointing.
“But I think the biggest reason I’m disappointed is what Chris said, no communication with [Tyronn] Lue,” Griffin continued. “And even more than that, no communication. I talked to CP Wednesday, I talked to him yesterday, I talked to him today. No communication with Steve Ballmer. That’s the disappointing thing for me.”
Paul had announced in November that he would retire after the 2025-26 season, and his ending his career with the Clippers seemed apt. He had some of his best years in the NBA for the team alongside Griffin from 2011 to 2017. Unfortunately, things went south.
The Clippers sent Paul home from their road trip on Tuesday night and announced they were parting ways with the franchise icon. He had reportedly sparked tension behind the scenes by calling out team officials, several players, and head coach Tyronn Lue and his staff amid the team’s struggles.
Griffin wasn’t a fan of how the Clippers handled the situation, and he knows all about being disrespected by them. Back in 2017, during his free agency meeting, team officials reportedly wore shirts featuring his face, and those of Martin Luther King Jr., Barack Obama, and John F. Kennedy. A mock retirement of his number also took place to show just how highly they thought of him.
Griffin was sold and decided to sign a five-year, $171 million deal to stay with the Clippers. It looked like he would end his career with the team, but they stunningly traded him to the Detroit Pistons in January 2018. That left a bad taste in Griffin’s mouth, and he was asked if it shaped how he views this situation.
“I mean our experiences always shape how we see everything,” Griffin stated. “I always go back to that clip. I think everybody’s seen it. I was shooting free throws pregame and run off the court, and Steve Ballmer tries to come up and shake my hand… That was my pregame routine. I meant nothing by that. And I said I’ll say the same thing right now that I said then.
“He has my number,” Griffin continued. “It could have been a situation where he just reached out, ‘Hey, I want to talk.’ And it doesn’t change what happened, doesn’t change how it happened, but it does give me a certain amount of closure just because it’s like, ‘Hey, we had to make decisions.’ He had to make a decision. It’s all good. But like I said, I’m disappointed that nobody’s reached out to Chris.
“This organization’s been through a lot,” Griffin added. “You can build a new arena, you can be at games, you can cheer on the team, you’re gonna have all this high energy, but at the end of the day, an organization is built on a foundation of respect and it’s built on how you treat people and I don’t think that in this situation Chris was treated right. I’m sort of at a loss for words a little bit. I’m just disappointed.”
Ballmer got a lot of praise over the years for how good a job he was doing as owner of the Clippers, but his reputation has taken a big hit now. Relationships with franchise icons in Griffin and Paul haven’t been handled well, and the whole Aspiration scandal still hangs over the team as well.
