Our exit interview series on the 2026 Clippers continues with yet another disaster of a season, that of legendary Clipper Chris Paul.
Basic Information
Height: 6’0
Weight: 180 pounds
Position: Point Guard
Age: 40 (turns 41 in two weeks)
Years in NBA: 21
Key Regular Season Stats: 2.9 points, 3.3 assists, 1.8 rebounds, 0.7 steals, and 1.0 turnovers in 14.3 minutes per game across 16 games played (zero starts) on 32.1/33.3/50 (1.9 3PA and 0.1 FTA) shooting splits (41.3 True Shooting)
Expectations
The varying expectations for Chris Paul were, in this writer’s opinion, the main reason why things went as badly as they did (spoiler!). When Paul was initially signed last summer, it sure seemed as though he was being brought in as a veteran presence, locker room leader, and depth piece that would not be a major part of the team’s on-court plans. After all, the Clippers had the workhorse James Harden as the starting point guard, and Paul and Harden were both past the point of being able to play together much. Add in the presence of newly signed Bradley Beal (combo guard that needs the ball), Kris Dunn (combo guard with limited offensive juice), and Bogdon Bogdanovic and the guard room was quite crowded with seemingly little room for an old, undersized, and ball-dominant ballhandler.
However, things gradually began to shift as the season approached. There were rumors and reports that Paul looked good and that he’d immediately won the trust of the coaching staff. There was the news that Beal was not healthy entering training staff, throwing a wrench in the team’s planned rotations. And there was the fact that Paul had mostly been effective the year prior for the Spurs in a starting role, starting all 82 games for a team that went 34-48 despite Wemby missing the back half of the season. Thus, as the regular season approached, expectations had transitioned to Paul being a rotation player, probably the team’s backup point guard, with the hope that he’d provide stability during the Harden-less minutes and enable the team to give Harden more rest.
Reality
Expectations only got heightened in the preseason, as the Clippers looked sharp and CP3 played a big role in the team’s success. Paul played in three of the Clippers four preseason games, logged 18.9 minutes per game (4th on the team behind Kawhi, Harden, and Zubac), and averaged 8.3 points, 3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists while shooting the ball well and barely turning the ball over. It appeared as though the Clippers were every bit the playoff contender that pundits had expected them to be after their highly-praised offseason, and that CP3 had gas in the tank.
As we all remember, those expectations took an immediate hit as the Clippers were embarrassed in their first game by the young and athletic Utah Jazz in a blowout loss. As for Paul, all of the zip and shooting touch that had been present in preseason seemed to have vanished, as he looked every bit of his 40 years on both ends of the court. The Clippers started the season 3-5, and while Paul played in all of them, his playing time decreased over that stretch. The Point God went scoreless in three of those eight games, and maxed out at six points. It was grim.
Paul was thus phased out of the rotation, logging DNP-CDs during the next five contests. He returned to the rotation in mid-November with the Clippers struggling at 4-9. Things did not improved. Paul’s highest scoring game was 8 points (his last game with the team), and his best performance was a 3-point, 8-assist effort in the Clippers’ lone win in that stretch over the Hornets. Paul was a negative on defense due to his height and slow feet, and was not able to create any advantages on offense. The Clippers had many, many issues during their 5-16 start, but Paul’s inability to do much of anything on either end was certainly one of them.
Then, out of nowhere, on December 3 it was reported that the Clippers were sending Paul home. Almost immediately, stories started coming out giving the angles on both sides. From the Clippers’ perspective, Paul had clashed with the coaching staff on a number of occasions, going so far as to “override” their coverages. There were also reports about some difficulties with other players, though these were less substantiated. The reports coming from Pauls’ perspective indicated a complete lack of accountability and culture in the Clippers’ organization, including the infamous story of almost nobody from the team showing up to his Halloween party. Paul never played for the team again, was traded to the Raptors at the deadline, and subsequently officially retired from the NBA.
While most people took sides, and lots of jokes from non-Clippers fans were made at the expense of both parties, it seemed fairly clear that there was fault all around. Chris Paul, as always, was probably overly abrasive and too much of a perfectionist. The Clippers’ coaching staff seems to have had poor communication and not been flexible enough in handling him. The Clippers’ front office should have squashed any issues sooner, and appeared to be impotent in handling a massive rift. And, finally, the Clippers’ lack of culture and accountability as a staff and record crew has been a running issue since the 213 era began nearly seven years ago. It was an ugly, ugly divorce all around, and I’d guess we haven’t even heard the last of all the details that will eventually come out.
From an on-court perspective, there’s just no denying that Paul’s stint with the team this season was a massive failure. He was ineffectual on both ends and didn’t bring any of what the team was looking for in terms of steady playmaking, outside shooting, and a calming presence. The Beal situation was a bigger blow to the team construction, but Chris not providing anything was probably the third or fourth biggest factor in the team’s horrendous 6-21 start.
Future with Clippers
This is where things really get unfortunate. Before this disastrous final stint with the Clippers, it seemed a given that Paul would retire as a Clipper (hopefully happily), go into the Basketball Hall of Fame in a Clippers jersey, and be remembered mostly fondly by fans despite the playoff failures of the Lob City era. That happy future is much less certain now. There have been no rumors about any reconciliation between CP and the Clippers; in fact, Paul posted gleefully about the Clippers’ losing in the play-in just a few weeks ago.
There is still plenty of time for amends to be made between Paul and the Clippers’ franchise. However, that might have to wait until the current front office and coaching staff have moved on, and that doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon. Maybe Paul still goes in the Hall wearing a Clippers jersey, but there’s a chance he doesn’t. Quite frankly, the franchise’s greatest player getting one of basketball’s highest honors in another team’s jersey would be tough. I hope we see efforts made by both sides to move past this rocky finish, because this fiasco looks bad for all involved.
