Chris Paul is ‘absolutely not’ done yet after Clippers release – Marc J. Spears | NBA Today

Chris Paul is ‘absolutely not’ done yet after Clippers release – Marc J. Spears | NBA Today

The Los Angeles Clippers and team owner Steve Balmer reportedly have been accused of circumventing the NBA salary cap by paying $28 million to Kawhi Leonard for a no-show job. None of us did no wrongdoing. The average age of your team is closer to receiving their pension. It’s not a good sign. Bradleyville has sustained a fractured hip. They are a bottom five defensive team. The Clippers look like hot garbage. Chris Paul posted on his social media saying, quote, “I just found out I’m being sent home.” That organization right now is a mess. Chris Paul might have been sent home from Atlanta, but the Clippers still had to play a game against the Hawks. And you see here Tyoo and the fans reaction in Atlanta. fans giving them some grief there early on here. James Harden finding Kawhai for three. Man, they needed this win so bad. Later in the third, Kawhai knocks down the jumper in the paint. He finishes with 21. Next possession for the Clippers. Kawhai finds Harden on the wing for three. Harden was five of 14 from three. Under two minutes in the third. Clippers up by 16. Harden, he’ll hit the step back. I thought that was a huge shot. Because so many of these games that they’ve lost, they’ve blown leads just like this. And that shot made a way they were going to win. Here’s Tyler pregame on why it didn’t work with CP3. It just didn’t work out like we thought it would, you know, and um like I said, I don’t like it for CP, you know, but um it just wasn’t a good fit, you know, and we understood that. And so, um, like I said, it was an organization, you know, um, um, they made the the choice, you know, and so, um, moving forward, you know, we got to see what we do. Do I want to see TP go out like this? No. I have a lot of respect for him. He’s been a friend of mine over the years, and, um, you never want to see a great go out, you know, like this, but I’m pretty sure he will find something because he’s a great player. He’s a, you know, and so, um, I didn’t want to see it end like this. All right. So the shock waves are still reverberating about this. But Ramona, what can you tell us about how this whole thing has played out? Well, listen, this has been going on for several weeks now, and I think we all kind of saw something was happening three, four weeks ago when he started getting DNPCDs, you know, coach’s decision to not play a guy like Chris Paul once is fine, a matchup, okay, but to do it three times in a row, there was definitely something going on. And from what I understand, the coaching staff at some point had gone to him and said, “We need you to be better. we need you to say uh to you know make sure you you respect our authority and not undermine things. And he went to his teammates and actually apologized at one point and said I’m sorry my intentions are good but poor Thanksgiving. Yeah. And my intentions are good but if I it’s coming off a wrong way. So in some ways it felt like it had been settled because that that that all had happened a little while ago and he was kind of back in the rotation back in the lineup but clearly it had not been settled and they made that decision. And I I thought it was interesting Lawrence Frank said he made the decision Sunday night and he wanted to do the right thing by telling him in person by going to talk to him manto man face to face which is why there was a delay and we know all about the delays the team flight was to delay Chris was at an art store my all the things but it’s still the fact that it came out this way um is hard to it’s hard to wrap your head around and and I I I the the fun the fun part last night with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan on the FaceTime with Chris Paul two guys who had sort of been scorned by the franchise and maybe don’t feel all that good about their time there, but how it ended. Uh they end up on the FaceTime with CP and they’re laughing and smiling. I I I’m going to be very interested to see what Blake Griffin says uh next time he makes an appearance on the Amazon pregame show, which I think is Friday. You know, I uh talked to Chris Paul’s camp and uh asked him how he’s doing and they said under the circumstances, he’s about as good as he can be. He’s been very happy about former players and current players who have reached out whether on social media or behind the scenes offering support. Um so the big question, does he want to retire? Is he done? I was told absolutely not. Um he does want to play, but I remember interviewing him before the season and the main reason he signed with the Clippers was to be close to family, go home and try to finish it there. So where does he go from here? Um, there’s only 10 teams that have roster spots. One GM told me I just don’t have a spot for him, you know. So, if it could it be away, could it be out east? Could it be away from his family? I was told that Chris would cross that bridge when he gets there. It’s going to be a little while. And I think the teams that one of the teams that was interested him over the offseason, which I think is an interesting we have to watch. They don’t have a roster spot, but the Dallas Mavericks liked him over the offseason. He didn’t want to be away from Los Angeles, but he does have a relationship with Cooper Flag. Yeah. But do you want to change that now with Ryan Nimhard and the way he’s playing? And when they create when they create a roster spot, it needs to go to Ryan Nhard, who’s on a two-way deal now. They’re going to need to convert him to a standard contract. I I would be surprised if the Mavericks are home. You know, the Knicks had interest this summer. Um, but the other thing, Bobby Marks laid it out yesterday, the Clippers literally can’t wave or trade him, right? Correct. like crazy like like he’s just he’s just got shipped home and is in complete limbo right now. But a legend cannot end his career getting sent home in the middle of the night. Yeah. It’s brutal stuff. Um and look, ultimately, you know, to your point, it’ll be interesting to see where he goes cuz to Mark’s point, he wanted to be closer to home. You know, how much does winning play a factor? How much does being closer to home play a factor? I think all that he’s going to be home for about two two at least two weeks, maybe a month or more. So, by the time he’s able to be traded someplace, maybe he’s been home enough or just finishing the chapter the right way. That’s right. For sure. I I would I would pre prefer being in a winning situation if I’m him. You know, I think that’s what he thought he was coming to also as well. All right.

On NBA Today, Tim MacMahon, Ramona Shelburne and Marc J. Spears discuss Chris Paul being released by the Los Angeles Clippers.

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