The Los Angeles Clippers axed veteran point guard Chris Paul, releasing the 12-time All-Star in a shock move that comes with the team struggling near the foot of the NBA standings.
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Paul, 40, announced his departure in a social media post at around 3am local time, revealing he had left the Clippers during their road trip in Atlanta.
“Just found out I’m being sent home,” wrote Paul, who returned to the Clippers this season on a one-year deal.
Clippers chief Lawrence Frank later confirmed Paul’s exit in a statement released to US media outlets.
“We are parting ways with Chris, and he will no longer be a part of the team,” Frank said. “We will work with him on the next step of his career.”
Paul has reportedly been planning to retire from the NBA at the end of this season. The veteran had previously spent six seasons with the Clippers, joining the team in 2011 and leaving in 2017.
The team reached the playoffs every year that Paul was on the roster, but failed to progress further than the Western Conference semi-finals.
This season the Clippers are languishing one place off the bottom of the Western Conference, with a 5-16 record.
Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)Source: AP
Paul, recruited as a bench player, has averaged just 2.9 points per game in 16 appearances.
In his statement Wednesday, Clippers chief Frank said Paul was not responsible for the team’s poor start to the campaign.
“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,” Frank said.
“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.”
ESPN reported that Paul’s exit came following weeks of tension between the player and coach Ty Lue.
The report, citing unidentified sources, said the two had not been on speaking terms for “several weeks”, with the Clippers believing Paul had become “disruptive.”
Further to that, NBA insider Chris Haynes reported that Paul requested a meeting with Lue weeks ago to “discuss allegations of being a negative presence on the team”.
Lue, according to Haynes, refused to meet with him and it was later left to Frank to deliver the news to Paul that the team would be cutting ties.
The NBA world reacted in shock to the sudden news of Paul’s departure, with Marc J. Spears calling it “one of the most astonishing things I’ve seen covering this league”.