James Harden admitted to being “shocked and confused” at discovering the Los Angeles Clippers had parted ways with Chris Paul.
Paul, 40, planned to retire at the end of the season after a brilliant career. The intention was he would go out with the Clippers after rejoining the franchise on a one-year contract after representing them between 2011 and 2017.
But his short-term future now looks uncertain. Paul has flown back to LA from Atlanta, where the team played the Hawks last night, a game they won 115-92 to snap a five-game losing streak.
The decision to go their separate ways came about following lengthy late-night talks between Paul and Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank on Tuesday.
Harden baffled by Paul call
After the game Wednesday, Harden said: “I’m just as confused and shocked as you guys, the world.
“Definitely surprised me. But not just Chris, it’s a lot that we were dealing with. But that is out of my hands. I got to focus on what I got to focus on and what I can control. I guess the front office felt that was the best decision for the organization.”
Kawhi Leonard added: “It was shocking to me. I guess they had a conversation, and front office made a decision.”
According to ESPN, Paul had fallen out with Clippers coach Ty Lue and his influence in the locker room had started to become disruptive.
“I don’t think it necessarily helped our team,” Lue said before Wednesday’s game. “I mean, I don’t think the reason why we’re 5-16 is because of CP’s play. I just think that it wasn’t a good fit for what he was looking for. Do I want to see CP go out like this? No, I have a lot of respect for him. He’s been a friend of mine over the years, and you don’t want to see a great go out like this.
“I don’t like it. It just didn’t work out like we thought it would. I don’t like it for CP. It just wasn’t a good fit, and we understood that. It was an organization [decision], they made the choice and so moving forward, we got to see what we do.”