One of the best players in Los Angeles Clippers history isn’t thrilled with how the franchise has treated his former teammate, Chris Paul.
Three days after the Clippers unceremoniously released the future Hall of Famer in the middle of a road trip, former All-Star Blake Griffin provided some perspective on the divorce during an appearance on Prime Video‘s NBA pregame show. Consider him fully on Paul’s side.
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Griffin praised Paul’s leadership during their time together in L.A. while criticizing the Clippers’ lack of communication and consideration for Paul as he navigates what is supposed to be his final season in the NBA.
Griffin’s comments:
“I’m just disappointed, to be honest. I can’t really think of another word. Obviously shocked at first, but disappointed. I’m disappointed for Chris Paul, but I’m disappointed in the Clippers organization.
“Chris Paul is a guy who came to the Clippers when DeAndre [Jordan] and I were first- and second-year guys. He brought a winning culture. He taught us how to operate in the NBA and how to take every game seriously, how to take your body seriously, that there was no detail that was too small … Chris Paul, for 20 years, has been the same player. He’s been about winning.
“Re-signing with the Clippers, this was supposed to be his moment, his coming back to L.A. ‘I’m giving it one last go.’ And for him to not get to walk out on his own terms, from the franchise — that he chose to go to — to end his career, is extremely disappointing.
“But I think the biggest reason I’m disappointed is what Chris said. No communication with Ty Lue. And, even more than that, no communication — I talked to CP Wednesday, I talked to him yesterday, I talked to him today — no communication with [Clippers owner] Steve Ballmer. And that’s the disappointing thing for me.
Griffin had criticism for the Paul situation happening under Ballmer in particular. Ballmer famously bought the franchise in 2014 during a much more embarrassing time with the Donald Sterling scandal. Griffin and Paul were both on the Clippers then and saw firsthand the organization’s changes from the famously stingy Sterling:
“You can build a new arena, be at games, cheer on the team, you can have all this high energy, but at the end of the day, an organization is built on a foundation of respect and it’s built on how you treat people. I don’t think that in this situation Chris was treated right. I’m sorta at a loss for words a little bit.”
Since Paul’s release, there have been reports that the 40-year-old had clashed with members of Clippers leadership, to the point that he allegedly hadn’t spoken to head coach Tyronn Lue in weeks. Prime Video’s Chris Haynes reported Friday the Clippers front office received intel that Paul was privately criticizing players, coaches and executives in the organization, which led to a meeting between Paul and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank.
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Paul reportedly denied the allegations, but later apologized to his teammates “if his words or actions were misconstrued.” He also reportedly asked for a meeting with Lue, but the coach declined.
As all of this was happening, the Clippers were off to an awful start, holding a 5-16 record at the time of Paul’s release. Paul was averaging career lows across the board, including 2.9 points per game, while coming exclusively off the bench.
Paul reportedly gave the following comment to Haynes:
“I’m just staying ready. I’m hooping right now. I don’t [know] what’s next. I’m still scarred by it all. Still processing everything. But I’m staying ready.”
It’s unclear where Paul will land in free agency, but it’s been made clear he doesn’t want to retire until the end of the season. Even if he’s no longer as productive as he once was, there figures to be a decent market for a player with his experience and leadership, especially given the number of connections he still has around the league.
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As for the Clippers, they’ve received more than their usual amount of taunts, but also broke a five-game losing streak on Wednesday with a lopsided win over the Atlanta Hawks.
