What was supposed to be a warm, nostalgic reunion between the LA Clippers and Chris Paul has instead unraveled into one of the stranger, more uncomfortable storylines of the 2025 season. The team that once gave him new life when he arrived from the Spurs just cut loose the guy who basically reshaped its identity. And the sense around the league is that this might be it for him.

Multiple reports say Paul is “unlikely” to join another team after being waived, and there’s a growing feeling that we may have already seen the last chapter of his career.

Paul made it clear before the season that Year 21 would be his final run. That’s what makes the timing so jarring. Releasing a 40-year-old future Hall of Famer midseason, especially someone widely viewed as the best player in franchise history.

But for Paul, it probably doesn’t change much. He wasn’t expected to keep playing elsewhere anyway.

The story behind the late-night move seems rooted in tension with Tyronn Lue. Chris Paul, even in limited minutes, apparently pushed coaches and teammates to raise their standard as the Clippers slid further down the Western Conference standings.

That approach didn’t sit well with some inside the building, particularly Lue, and by the time the decision was made, the two weren’t even communicating.

When the news hit, Paul added his own brief, almost resigned confirmation on Instagram: “Just found out I am being sent home,” followed by a peace sign. This came in after he had been removed from the team’s road trip.

It’s a tough, and probably unfair, way for a career like his to close. No one imagined the last chapter would be a 5–16 midseason exit from the franchise he helped legitimize. Yet here we are. And the fallout with Lue seems to be the thread that pulled everything apart. He had plenty to say about Paul’s departure.

Ty Lue on Chris Paul’s departure

The Clippers’ decision to send Chris Paul home has triggered plenty of reaction around the league about what is really going on behind the scenes. But Lue spoke on the move today and made it clear the choice had more to do with fit than any decline in Paul’s game.

“I do not like it. It just did not work out like we thought it would. It just was not a good fit and we understood that. They made the choice and we have to move forward and see what we can do,” Lue said.

Paul wasn’t really responsible for the Clippers’ freefall this season. He barely played, after all. He’s averaging 2.6 points and 3.3 assists in 14.3 minutes per game, all career lows, and he sat out five straight games in mid-November. Lue made it clear the record isn’t on him.

“I do not think it helps our team, and I do not think the reason we are 5-16 is because of CP. I just think it was not a good fit for what he was looking for. I like CP, I have a lot of respect for him, he has been a friend of mine over the years, and you do not want to see a great go out like this.”

The tension between the two is still strange. Even though Lue wasn’t part of the Lob City run, he always held real respect for Paul and what he meant to the franchise. So the reports that he declined to meet with Paul when Paul asked for a sit-down paint a pretty bleak picture.

But that’s also where the Clippers are right now. They’re messy on the court, messy off it. And all of that dysfunction helped produce one of the roughest endings we’ve seen for a player of Paul’s legacy.