Chris Paul’s social media post about leeway was reportedly in reference to a discussion he had with Los Angeles Clippers assistant Jeff Van Gundy in the aftermath of a Nov. 29 game against the Dallas Mavericks.
Appearing on Prime Video’s postgame show Friday night, NBA insider Chris Haynes explained Van Gundy told Paul he “might have had leeway” to adjust defensive coverages with other teams but not with the Clippers.
The conversation between Paul and Van Gundy came about after Paul spoke to Kawhi Leonard during a fourth-quarter timeout to ask if he was good because he appeared to be struggling to keep up with Klay Thompson on defensive assignments.
According to Haynes, Paul then told some of his teammates they “might want to switch” things up to make sure Leonard is warmed up after coming off the bench before putting him on Thompson.
The Mavs beat the Clippers 114-110, then the following day Paul posted a picture with the word leeway and its definition on his social media.
The game against Dallas wound up being Paul’s penultimate appearance with the Clippers. He played 15 minutes in a 140-123 loss to the Miami Heat on Dec. 1, then the club announced overnight on Wednesday he would no longer be on the team.
ESPN’s Shams Charania noted there was a clash of styles between Paul’s leadership and how the Clippers wanted things to run before they made the decision to move on.
Paul, who signed a one-year deal as a free agent in July, returned to the Clippers after being arguably the best player in franchise history during his original six-year tenure with the franchise from 2011 to ’17.
The 40-year-old was averaging career-lows in minutes (14.3), points (2.9) and assists (3.3) in 16 appearances with the Clippers.
Los Angeles had high expectations coming into this season after winning 50 games and taking the Denver Nuggets to seven games in the first round of the playoffs during the 2024-25 campaign.
Instead, things have bottomed out for the Clippers so far. They are 6-17 through their first 23 games this season, ahead of only the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans in the Western Conference.