Head coach Tyronn Lue said he didn't consider his Los Angeles Clippers a great match for 21-year veteran Chris Paul, whom the organization unexpectedly parted ways with Wednesday morning.
"I don't think the reason why we're 5-16 is because of CP's play," Lue said Wednesday before the Clippers faced the Hawks in Atlanta, per Sports Illustrated's Joey Linn. "I just think that it wasn't a good fit for what he was looking for.
"Do I want to see CP go out like this? No, I have a lot of respect for him. He's been a friend of mine over the years, and you never want to see a great go out like this. But I'm pretty sure he will find something because he's a great player. I didn't want to see it end like this."
Los Angeles' exiling of the franchise icon and future Hall of Famer reportedly followed weeks of conflict between Paul and Lue. The coach refused to meet with Paul despite the guard's requests to address rumors that he had become a negative presence on the team, sources told Chris Haynes of Amazon Prime Video.
Lue also hadn't been on speaking terms with Paul, who had candidly criticized Clippers staff and players during the season, ESPN's Shams Charania reports.
Paul appeared in 16 of 20 games this campaign for L.A. before getting released, averaging career lows with 2.9 points and 3.3 assists in 14.3 minutes per game. The 12-time All-Star suggested on Nov. 22 that this would be his final season. Meanwhile, the Clippers' record has fallen to 5-16 amid the absences of Kawhi Leonard, Derrick Jones Jr., and Bradley Beal - the latter out for the rest of 2025-26 due to a fractured hip.
Lawrence Frank, the Clippers' president of basketball operations, said in a statement Wednesday that the organization doesn't hold Paul responsible for its underperformance.
Unless they make the unlikely decision to release Paul from his veteran minimum contract, the Clippers can't trade the 40-year-old before Dec. 15.
L.A. sits second-last in the Western Conference and doesn't control its own 2026 first-rounder.
