The Los Angeles Clippers had high hopes for the NBA season this season. But within just a few months, the illusion was completely gone. In the first campaign of its new billion-dollar pavilion, the Inuit Dome that will host part of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic program, and with a veteran roster full of true stars in contention, the Los Angeles franchise has just added another sad chapter to its profound sporting and institutional crisis. Chris Paul, one of the club’s great icons, was involved in an accident in the early hours of the morning at the team hotel in Atlanta, and will never pull on a Los Angeles jersey again during what was scheduled to be a great farewell tour for him at the age of 40. The veteran guard, a 12-time All-Star, found out about the surprising decision shortly before 3 a.m. and shared exactly what it said on social media. “I just knew they were sending me home,” the player wrote.
Due to the uproar it caused, and despite the hours he spent working in the United States, the team’s president of basketball operations sent a brief statement to the specialized press. “We will part ways with Chris and he will no longer be part of the team. We will work with him on the next step in his career,” said Lawrence Frank, the right-hand man of the NBA’s richest owner and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. “Chris is clipper The legendary who had a historic career. I want to make something very clear: No one blames you for our poor performance. I bear this responsibility now, and there are many reasons why we suffer. “We are grateful for the impact Chris has had on our franchise,” the CEO concluded.
The controversial decision comes two weeks after Paul confirmed that this would be his last season as a professional during the Clippers’ visit to New Orleans, where he began his extensive and successful career with the Hornets (now Pelicans), but he just missed the ring. “These people are crazy,” CP3’s brother responded to the networks. Many unknowns surround this unexpected kick for the legend, who played six past winning seasons with the franchise and returned to the team with the goal of serving as a locker room leader and enjoying his final dance in the NBA.
The guard’s resume includes 11 All-Big Five selections this season, a inclusion on the 75th Anniversary Team and a Rookie of the Year award which he won in 2005 after being selected fourth overall in the draft. Internationally, Paul has won two Olympic golds with Team USA (Beijing 2008 and London 2012) and a bronze at the World Cup in Japan in 2006. Currently, the point guard is the second player with the most assists recorded in a career, behind only Hall of Famer and former Utah Jazz player John Stockton.
The Clippers suffered five consecutive defeats and will play on Wednesday in Atlanta after being defeated by the Miami Heat, who beat them by 38 points and ended with a 140-123 victory. Paul will now go home without playing another minute, averaging 2.9 points and 3.3 assists in 14 minutes of action in 16 games off the bench this season. Last year, CP3 served as a mentor to Victor Wimpanyama and the San Antonio Spurs’ young players, starting all 82 regular season games and averaging 8.8 points and 7.4 assists in 28 minutes of action.
The Clippers’ record is five wins and 16 losses, which puts them in penultimate place in the Western Conference, a performance well below expectations. Playoffs It was placed in the hands of its overwhelming duo: James Harden, the best player in the NBA in 2018, and Kawhi Leonard, the league’s two-time champion in the past. In addition, the latter was the unexpected protagonist of the pre-season after the revelation of a virtual bonus of €24 million through one of the franchise’s sponsors, something that keeps the investigation into the competition open and could lead to severe penalties and suspensions for all involved. At the end of November, to make matters worse, the Clippers lost guard Bradley Beal, the team’s most talked about signing this summer, due to injury.
Paul came to the Clippers on a rebound in December 2011 following a failed trade with the Lakers, brokered by then-commissioner David Stern. CP3’s arrival to the franchise put the “other L.A. team” on the map, always sitting in the shadow of their Hollywood neighbors. With him in charge of operations on the hardwood and mountainside powerhouse Blake Griffin as the star receiver for his assists, the Angelenos experienced one of their most remarkable stretches as a franchise, clinching the title Loop City For his continuous and amazing presence Alley excuse me.
Specifically, his former classmate Griffin was also the former Great Symbol clipper On being fired through the back door after a legendary career with the franchise. In January 2018, months after signing a five-year contract extension, the striker suddenly found himself on a plane bound for Detroit, where he began the beginning of the end of his illustrious career in a confrontation with those in charge of his former team. Others who have recently finished with the organization are Eric Bledsoe, John Wall, Russell Westbrook and PJ Tucker.
It’s very convenient that the Clippers won’t appear in front of their fans again until the 16th, just one day after the team was able to either resign Chris Paul’s contract or trade him to another team, with all options on the table. Since announcing his impending retirement on November 22, the veteran goalkeeper has not appeared in front of the media amid the turmoil in which the group finds itself.