Los Angeles Clippers News

Home

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

Nov 29, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) brings the ball up court during the first quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

The Clippers Shockingly Part Ways With Chris Paul

Originally posted on Stadium Rant | By John Pina | Last updated Dec 3, 2025 1:44 PM ET

The Los Angeles Clippers unexpectedly parted ways with Chris Paul in the early hours of the morning, at 3 AM on the East Coast and 12 PM on the West Coast, according to Chris Haynes. One of the most stunning moves in the NBA comes after a very disappointing 5-16 start for the Clippers, as they are currently one of the laughing stocks of the league. Paul was in and out of the rotation, and in the midst of his farewell tour, as this was his last year in the NBA at 40 years old and 21 seasons. Paul is a franchise legend with Los Angeles, a guy that very well might get his jersey retired by the Clippers, and they didn’t even have the decency to let him play out the season with them. This is a team that Paul wanted to end his illustrious first-ballot Hall of Fame career with, and they repay him by getting rid of him 21 games into the season.

From 2011-2017, Paul was a five-time All-Star, six-time All-Defense first team, three-time All-NBA first team, and two-time All-NBA second team recipient with the Clippers. Paul also had five top-10 Defensive Player of the Year finishes and five top-10 MVP votes. Including a third-place MVP vote in the 2011-2012 season and a fourth-place MVP vote in the 2012-2013 season. This is also shocking because he’s such a consummate professional, ultimate leader, and heralded as an all-around really good guy. According to Shams Charania, the reason behind all of this is the fact that Paul was vocally holding the Clippers accountable and wasn’t on speaking terms with head coach Tyronn Lue.

It’s also unfortunate because Paul wanted to stay in Los Angeles to be closer to his family, spend more time with his children, and go to their games as well. Now that opportunity has been potentially ripped from him out of the blue, randomly in the middle of the night, and now he’s going to be scrambling for a new team to end his career with. Paul reacted on his Instagram story by mentioning the fact that he was sent home, one of the most bizarre wordings that I’ve seen in a while. When you hear that someone is sent home, it reminds you of something that happened at school, not something that occurs in a billionaire organization like the National Basketball Association.

The End Of My Chris Paul Rant

I don’t think this is the end for Paul. According to Trevor Lane, he can still be traded, and the Clippers mentioned in their statement that they’re working with him and his representatives on the next step of his career. With that being said, you can’t rule out Paul signing with the Los Angeles Lakers as this has been rumored for years now, and how funny would it be for him to do so during his farewell tour?

Famously, the now late NBA commissioner David Stern vetoed a three-team trade between the Lakers, Charlotte Hornets, and Houston Rockets that would’ve sent Paul to the Lakers and paired him with the late and great Kobe Bryant. The other side of that trade was the Rockets receiving Pau Gasol from the Lakers and the Hornets getting back Lamar Odom, Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, Goran Dragic, and a 2012 first-round pick. Multiple players involved in the trade were stunned and didn’t immediately return to training camp with their teams, including both Paul and Odom.

I really hope Paul gets another chance to go out on top, especially on a contending team, since a championship ring is the final thing that he needs to put a bow on his career. Injuries have played a big part in not getting that feat; the dynasty Warriors also happened, and he’s had his playoff struggles as well. It would be absolutely sickening if this were the end of the road for Paul, so hopefully, he has a better conclusion to his career. The fact that he’s going out on a meme of him cutting the lead down to 33 points vs the Miami Heat is probably the last way that he envisioned his Clippers tenure ending.

Paul deserves better; hopefully, he can go out on top with whatever he chooses next. This is the most united NBA Twitter has been in a while, pure shell shock that the Clippers rid themselves of Paul, and at such an obscure time. They know how badly he wanted to end his career with them, yet they still went ahead and made this decision. They signed him to a one-year $3.6 million contract in the offseason, and they pulled the plug a fourth of the way into the season.

Nov 28, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) high-fives guard Chris Paul (3) during the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

This article first appeared on Stadium Rant and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: