Longtime point guard Chris Paul is in his final NBA season and is technically still under contract with the Clippers. However, Los Angeles announced that it was “parting ways” with the future Hall of Famer on December 3, and he is no longer around the team.
Reporting after Paul’s departure shed more light on the situation, with multiple outlets suggesting that the 40-year-old had clashed with players, coaches, and the front office due to his leadership style, which the Clippers found to be “acerbic” and unhelpful in a veteran locker room.
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com takes an in-depth look at Paul’s acrimonious exit, writing that there was no “smoking gun” incident that led to his departure.
“There really wasn’t one thing,” one source close to the situation told Shelburne. “This isn’t like J.R. Smith throwing the soup in Cleveland.”
Instead, there were personality clashes between Paul and various members of the organization, including arguments with head coach Tyronn Lue and “especially” assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy. There were also major differences of opinion on Paul’s role.
According to Shelburne, the Clippers viewed Paul as a low maintenance veteran leader who would play a “very limited” on-court role; Paul confirmed he was OK with that, sources tell Shelburne, but he also wanted a chance to earn playing time and would try to be an “extension of the coaching staff.”
While Paul’s second stint with the Clippers started out well in the offseason, that quickly changed during training camp, as players and coaches “recoiled” from Paul’s suggestions and “abrasive” personality, Shelburne writes.
“That’s how Chris is,” one executive with another team said. “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’s expectations for his role also changed during that time, as he was spearheading a second unit that was regularly “kicking (the starters’) ass” during camp, as forward John Collins put it. The 12-time All-Star had a substantial role during the preseason as well, Shelburne notes.
“If all they wanted was a cheerleader,” the same rival executive said, “why did they sign Chris Paul? I mean, they had him before. They knew what he was like.”
According to Shelburne’s sources, Paul attempted multiple times during the season to engage in team-building exercises and was concerned about the Clippers’ culture, but his efforts largely fell flat in a quiet locker room. Shelburne also provides more details on Paul’s disagreements with Lue and Van Gundy, his final meeting with president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, and reports that Brook Lopez and Kawhi Leonard were Paul’s “most ardent supporters.”
Shelburne’s story is worth checking out in full for fans of Paul and/or the Clippers.
I dont even understand why Jeff Van Gundy has a basketball related job
I really like him as commentator, but I hated him as a coach for how he wasted Yao Ming’s career.
What kind of idiot decides to build his team around the weakest area of his best player’s game.
Yao’s game was tailor made for the high post.
But that dummy stuck down low with his back to the basket exclusively.
Clippers are done. I try to tell everybody on this form. There’s more to basketball than just scoring. After the leaked thing came at about kawhi Leonard, I’m sure that shattered the locker room and people within the organization. Also, you have James harden who likes to play his style of basketball. You have Tyron Lou who actually really wasn’t even that good of a coach. He kind of Coach LeBron Irving and love in a week Eastern conference so for me he’s not even proven. Then you have the rest of the veterans who are pretty much out of the league and I don’t think many of the players are even playing to win
I’m sure CP3 is probably right and just calling out folks on their crap. Couple of crap coaches not taking accountability for the crappy record. Lot of crap on that team.
First, how can anybody trash talk the coaching style of Cousin Bally?! He was willing to go to the floor and grab ankles for his players in NY.
Suggesting that Lue isn’t a very good coach is not fair. Sure, he had LBJ and Kai for the title run in Cleveland, but as we’ve learned over the past 20 years, handling Bron has not been easy for a lot of coaches. He does deserve credit for managing the Egos and personalities in that Cavs locker room to get them that title. You also look at what he accomplished with the Clips roster last year, the team definitely overachieved.
That said, Lue, Van Gundy, Phil Jackson, Don Nelson, Pop, none of them would be able to save the mess that is this current Clippers roster. They need a rebuild badly, but they don’t have the draft picks and tradable assets to actually steer into it. They’re going continue to try fitting square pages into round holes because there’s no other option, and they’re going to continue to fail in their attempts. The next decade is about to get really dark for Clips fans.
Cleveland didn’t win anything without help let’s be honest. These are facts. Before David blat got fired, they were already going to go to the NBA finals and we’re the number one seed.
2nd The East was weak and with LeBron having two All NBA players on his team. There was no threat by any other team except for maybe Indiana in the Eastern conference and then when they were hurt it was the raptors and we all know the demar DeRozan isn’t that guy?.
3rd- they were down 3-1 and were going to lose the series. The NBA step in a made it a super bowl game 7 winner take all And Kyrie Irving just happened to hit the shot. (Tip my hat for the clutch play.
4th- Had Draymond Green not gotten suspended (The first and only suspension in NBA finals history) then Andrew bogut goes down because they have to play him extra minutes and another game. Causing a game 7. Winner take all. Also, I forgot iguodala was out too because he got hurt playing the extra game as well.
All that he gets one championship with the help of suspending and injured players and then proceeds to not be able to coach Kyrie Irving and LeBron James. Let’s not forget Kyrie Irving wanted to leave the team and he did. Getting Isaiah Thomas (basically ending his career) and has done nothing with clipper since he joined.
So I’m a little confused. What makes him a good coach as far as I’m concerned his claim to fame. It’s his one NBA championship which has drama surrounded around it because of the suspensions and the hurt players. All of a sudden Chris Paul is a bad guy when he literally uplifted SGA he uplifted Wemby. He uplifted New Orleans and he have lifted LA when he played there. And let’s not forget the same warriors team that LeBron and them saying they can’t be because of KD was in a game 7 against the Houston rockets which guess who was on the team. Chris Paul. And he got hurt. So it seems a lot of people seem to listen to podcasts and act like we weren’t alive to watch these games unfold
Wrt to that 2016 *Finals, you didn’t even mention the MVP being fouled out in game 6 (also the first and only time in NBA Finals history in a non-OT game), and then the game 7 anomaly of just 1 fta on 36 FGAs by Steph and Klay (who had averaged over 9 in the Finals in the 1st 6 games) as the refs ignored all contact, while rewarding Shumpert with 3 ftas on 3 FGAs, as the road Cavs scored the winning points at the free throw line.
The NBA ca$hed in on the 1st championship in Ohio in a major sport since the 60’s…
The NBA ca$hed in on that BS, and it’s a shame that
Thanks, I’m sure there is more that we missed. I just feel like basketball fans now. Just listen to podcasts and let a bunch of non-winners tell them what and how to feel. I always say this journalism and media is completely different from basketball. If you played basketball in the NBA or overseas, do you have some knowledge of the game? Yes, but that doesn’t mean you’re an expert at the game. Some of the players are just great in what they do, hence why some of them never win championships. I’m not hating on Tyron. Lou, it’s just he hasn’t proven himself as a coach and he walks around holding that Cleveland championship that everybody and their mama knows. If the NBA didn’t step in, they don’t win that championship. At least Doc Rivers won a championship fair and square. Now do I think he lives off that one championship for the last 15 years. Absolutely! And I think his time has ended. However, there is a difference between him and Ty lue
Clips must be the worse run organisation in the league, every one knows how CP3 is, by all accounts he seems to have been right and the coaching staff wrong… team fired the wrong guy!
Only thing saving the team is that they play in LA, that’s the only thing masking them as the worst run team in the league!
The dumpster fires keeps burning, as expected
Just goes to show that Kawhi isn’t as fun a guy as he claims to be. The guy is a generational talent for sure, but he is clearly not a leader, and clearly doesn’t want to lead or listen to anyone else. Same with Harden. Both are me-first guys, and Paul was a great signing that they squandered bc there is no leader in that team. The Clippers are sinking, and the one guy that wanted to change that was cold-shouldered by their “star” players. I feel bad for Clippers fans, and even Ballmer. The guy def wants to win… he just hitched his wagons to the wrong guys, unfortunately.
You are right about both. Kawhi Leonard is a all NBA two-way Superstar. But he is no leader. Honestly, I say the same thing about LeBron because a leader can build his own team. If you look at the Spurs he was able to get drafted to an organization that was already built and things were already set and still and what a bunch of mature individuals. Then when he goes to Toronto you swap out him and demar DeRozan and he’s way better player than than the DeRozan But again the Toronto raptors were well built organization and had a bunch of mature players on their team.
He wanted his own team and got his own team and we see the results. Same as LeBron going to Miami. The team had already won a championship and had a winning culture and then adding to all NBA players with LeBron and Bosch. Of course put them over the top but to me they underachieved because winning two championships with those players. Then he goes to Cleveland again. Kyrie Irving already an All-Star Kevin Love already an All-Star bringing in a bunch of veterans and he needed the Draymond Green suspension to win one championship when we saw the Houston rockets almost beat Golden State if Chris Paul didn’t get hurt. Then he goes to La. Hasn’t really won anything either except for the bubble championship. Wish had a 3-month layoff.
There’s a reason why guys like Kobe, Jordan, Hakeem olajuwon, Steph Curry and Shi now are leaders. Being a leader isn’t about getting a bunch of assist that’s being a basketball player and having a high IQ. Being a leader is able to get the most out of your teammates and elevate your team without stacking your deck or needing a bunch of other all NBA All-Star players. And if you do have that you are able to 3 peat. Or win multiple championships like Duncan, magic and Bird