The Clippers found themselves in another unexpected storyline after new details surfaced about a tense exchange between Chris Paul and Kawhi Leonard during last Saturday’s game against the Mavericks. With Paul recently being sent home by the team, new details continue to emerge about his final moments in Los Angeles, and the latest update may be the most interesting one yet.
Late in that fourth quarter against the Mavericks, Paul noticed Leonard struggling to stay in front of Klay Thompson and asked if he felt good enough to remain on the assignment. He then suggested to teammates that they might want to switch the matchup, which led to a confrontation with assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy.
“You might’ve had leeway in other places to change up defensive coverages, but you don’t have that leeway here,” Gundy told Paul.
In the past, Chris Paul has always exercised some authority in team decision-making, especially during his previous stint on the Clippers with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. So when he saw Klay Thompson going off for 23 points off the bench, he did not hesitate to call for adjustments on the fly.
For the Clippers, this was crossing a line, and Paul overstepped his role. The Mavericks ended up winning that night, while Paul went scoreless in 11 minutes off the bench.
That spat was just one of several incidents that led to Paul’s departure, and also one of the most notable. Despite his status as a multiple-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer, his voice carried little weight in the Clippers locker room. In fact, his arrival was met with doubt from day one, and he stepped on everyone’s toes with his vocal and brazen leadership style. It is no secret that the coaching staff was most at odds with Paul, and Tyronn Lue was not even on speaking terms with the All-NBA point guard.
Eventually, after just 16 games played this season, Paul was exiled from the team in a shocking decision that came in the middle of the night. It was a swift and brutal breakup, and surely not the one he deserved after achieving so much success as a Clipper. This ending will forever be a stain on his legacy with the franchise, but there is likely much more to the story than has been revealed so far.
Either way, for Paul, what was supposed to be his retirement tour has turned into his biggest embarrassment, perpetuated by the very team he gave his best years to. It is a truly humbling moment for the 12-time All-Star, and not one he ever saw coming.
Now, with so much uncertainty going forward, the league will watch closely to see where Paul lands and how much he has left to offer at this stage of his career. What comes next will define not only the end of his journey, but also how his legacy is remembered for years to come.
