Chris Paul’s time with the Los Angeles Clippers is over.
Paul was sent home by the franchise late on Tuesday night in the middle of their five-game road trip, he revealed on his Instagram story. The Clippers are in Atlanta ahead of a game against the Hawks there on Wednesday night.
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The Clippers confirmed that they were parting ways with Paul early on Wednesday morning. Specifics of their split are not yet known.
“We are parting ways with Chris and he will no longer be with the team,” Clippers president Lawrence Frank said in a statement, via ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “We will work with him on the next step of his career.”
“Chris is a legendary Clipper who had a historic career. I want to make one thing very clear. No one is blaming Chris for our underperformance. I accept responsibility for the record we have right now. There are a lot of reasons why we’ve struggled. We’re grateful for the impact Chris has made on the franchise.”
Paul is in his 21st season in the league this fall, and he already announced that it will be his last. He struck a one-year, $3.6 million deal with the Clippers this last offseason, reuniting with the franchise that he spent six seasons with earlier in his career. That move to return to Los Angeles, he said at the time, was a ‘no-brainer.”
Paul has played for seven franchises throughout his career and is a 12-time All-Star. He’s led the league in assists five times and led the league in steals six times. While he’s not won an NBA championship, there is no doubt that Paul is a future Hall of Famer and one of the best point guard to ever play in the league.
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The 40-year-old has averaged 2.9 points and 3.3 assists per game this season while coming off the bench consistently for just the second time in his career. He had eight points and three assists in 15 minutes off the bench on Monday night in their loss to the Miami Heat.
The Clippers have gotten off to an awful start this season. They will enter Wednesday’s game with just a 5-16 record, which is the second-worst in the Western Conference ahead of only the New Orleans Pelicans. They have lost five straight, too, and eight of their last nine.
Clearly, the team is looking to shake things up. The final few months of Paul’s career after this sudden split with the Clippers, however, is suddenly in jeopardy.
