The Los Angeles Clippers have sent shockwaves throughout the basketball world by announcing that they are cutting ties with Chris Paul. Paul had rejoined the Clippers this past offseason and was in the midst of his farewell season after announcing his retirement in November.
Paul finishing his career as a Clipper was just about the only positive of this 2025-26 season so far for the Clippers, but they have now decided they don’t want him around. The 40-year-old reacted to the development with a story on Instagram.
“Just Found Out I’m Being Sent Home.”
Paul certainly wouldn’t have imagined that things would pan out in this manner when he returned to the Clippers. As for why they have taken this drastic step, NBA insider Chris Haynes shared the statement put out by their president of basketball operations, Lawrence Frank.
“We are parting ways with Chris and he will no longer be with the team. We will work with him on the next step of his career. Chris is a legendary Clipper who has had a historic career. I want to make one thing very clear. No one is blaming Chris for our underperformance. I accept responsibility for the record we have right now. There are a lot of reasons why we’ve struggled. We’re grateful for the impact Chris has made on the franchise.”
You’d imagine there has to be more to this story. You don’t just cut ties in this manner with arguably the greatest player in franchise history, especially as the season is going nowhere as is.
The Clippers are currently 14th in the West with a 5-16 record. Paul has found himself in and out of the rotation and averaged 2.9 points, 1.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 0.7 steals per game in the campaign. He was playing a very small role and wasn’t hurting the team in any way.
It will be interesting to see what Paul does next. You’d hope he is able to find another team, as otherwise this would be a sad end to an incredible career.
Paul has made 12 All-Star, 11 All-NBA, and nine All-Defensive teams in his 21 seasons in the league. A lot of his very best years came with the Clippers from 2011 to 2017.
Paul played alongside Blake Griffin at that time, and the Clippers look to have butchered the relationship with both franchise icons. Griffin was traded away to the Detroit Pistons months after being signed to a five-year, $171 million deal in 2017. Like Paul, he would have thought he was ending his career with the team, but it wasn’t to be.
