Two weeks after the Los Angeles Clippers announced Chris Paul would no longer be part of the team, new details about the fractured relationship between the franchise and future Hall-of-Fame point guard have come out.
Per ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Paul first “raised concerns about the team’s culture” to Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank during a discussion the morning after a Nov. 6 loss to the Phoenix Suns.
One of the things that Paul pointed out in that conversation was a “lack of conversation in the group text chat and the lack of time the players spent together off the court.”
Shelburne noted Frank responded to Paul that his “style wasn’t in line with what they needed it to be—that his leadership was being perceived as subversive rather than helpful.”
According to Shelburne, that same day also marked the last “substantive conversation” between Paul and head coach Tyronn Lue before the Clippers sent him home on Dec. 2.
The phone call between the two men involved Paul asking Lue why he was benched for the entire second half against the Suns, and a suggestion to have “a meeting among team leaders and holding more practices on off days.”
Per Shelburne, Lue felt Paul was coming off too critical of players and coaches. The end result was Lue telling Paul later in the day that he would not be in the rotation for their next game, which was also against the Suns.
Paul wound up not playing at all in that game, a 114-103 loss for the Clippers.
During a streak of five consecutive games without getting on the floor from Nov. 8-16, Paul and Clippers lead assistant Jeff Van Gundy didn’t speak to each other for a long time until Paul “snarkily” broke the silence by asking “if he wasn’t talking to him.”
Shelburne’s report does note that on Nov. 11 Paul apologized to Clippers teammates if he had come off too negative or divisive. The apology came after a second meeting with Frank, who issued a “final warning” about being a divisive figure, and a separate discussion with Van Gundy to iron out their original exchange and “other issues that had caused friction between them.”
The detente between Paul and Van Gundy didn’t last long because the latter became “upset” during a Nov. 29 loss to the Dallas Mavericks after Paul “openly questioned” the coaching staff’s use of Kawhi Leonard’s limited minutes.
This was part of a previous report from NBA insider Chris Haynes, who explained that Van Gundy took exception to what he saw as Paul changing the defensive assignments during a timeout because Leonard was struggling to guard Klay Thompson late in the fourth quarter.
According to Shelburne, Paul asked Leonard and Kris Dunn on the Clippers’ flight home afterward if he “suggested a change or actually changed” the defensive assignment. Both players “affirmed” it was only a suggestion, rather than a direct change from what the coaching staff wanted.
But that interaction made its way to the coaching staff and front office, at which time it was decided Paul’s second stint with the Clippers would be coming to an abrupt end.
Paul did end up playing one more time for the Clippers, scoring eight points in 15 minutes in a 140-123 loss to the Miami Heat on Dec. 1. He remains under contract to the team, but Monday marked the first day he was eligible to be traded.
As part of the original announcement that Paul would not be with the team going forward, the Clippers did state they would “work with him” on the next steps.
Paul is expected to retire at the end of this season, his 21st in the NBA, though he hasn’t officially confirmed that at this point. He averaged 2.9 points and 3.3 assists per game in 16 appearances for the Clippers.