The tense divorce between the Clippers and veteran point guard Chris Paul was weeks in the making before the 12-time All-star ultimately was sent home by the team earlier this month.
ESPN released a lengthy report Tuesday by NBA insider Ramona Shelburne taking a deep dive into the breakup, including details of a rift between Paul and Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue and assistant Jeff Van Gundy.
The 40-year-old Paul officially became trade eligible on Monday after signing a one-year, $3.6 million deal as a free agent over the summer to return to the franchise he previously played for from 2011-17.
According to the report, Paul met with Clippers president Lawrence Frank on Dec. 2 in Atlanta following an argument with Van Gundy on the team plane from Miami. Paul “did not see it coming” when Frank informed him the team was sending him back to Los Angeles.
“Paul was stunned, sources said, and tried to plead his case,” Shelburne wrote. “At one point, he brought teammate Brook Lopez into the room as something of a character witness.
“Lopez and [Kawhi] Leonard were Paul’s most ardent supporters on the team, sources said. Paul reminded Frank that he’d asked him to facilitate another meeting with Lue and that hadn’t happened. Frank acknowledged that, but held firm. The decision had been made.”
In his 21st NBA season, Paul appeared in 16 games this season, all off the bench, with career-low averages of 2.9 points and 3.3 assists in just 14.3 minutes per game.
The Clippers were 5-16 at the time of the future Hall of Famer’s departure, and they’ve dropped four of five since he was sent packing to fall to 6-20 overall in 14th place in the Western Conference.
The ESPN report also described a 40-minute phone conversation between Lue and Paul in early November that began with Paul asking his coach why he’d been benched for the second half of a game the previous night.
The team had envisioned more of an “end-of-the-bench” leadership role for Paul despite him starting 82 games last season for the Spurs. But there also were complaints from teammates and coaches that the veteran often was “abrasive” while making suggestions.
“That’s how Chris is,” one NBA executive with another team was quoted as saying. “He wears you out. He’s convinced he’s right — and he often is right, which kind of pisses you off — and he’ll go around to everyone until you agree with him.”
Paul issued an apology to the team on Nov. 11 for coming across as too negative or divisive.
