Once again, the LA Clippers’ financial choices have the NBA world scratching its head. This time, it’s unrelated to the Aspiration mess, at least on the surface, but the numbers are still puzzling. The team has now “sent home” Chris Paul, even as he’s already on his farewell tour. Is this a quiet push toward early retirement, or is Lawrence Frank’s front office quietly preparing for a major trade?

For anyone wondering why the Clippers would sideline a player of Chris Paul’s caliber like this, the truth is no one really knows. Is a trade coming? Not yet, but it’s certainly possible. What we do know is that Paul isn’t a free agent and is still a Clippers player on paper, which makes the move even more curious.

For starters, he did not have a say in this decision. Yesterday, he was posting about his joy at returning to LA. Today, he confirmed he was abruptly sent packing. While Ty Lue hardly allotted him meaningful minutes on the floor, now Paul won’t be playing at all. And he would get paid for it.

It’s possible that he still earns the remainder of $3.6 million contract till the end of the season. The Clippers can afford it too, as they’re well before the first apron.

Then there’s the possibility he is traded away. The Clippers are on the clock if they want to do that.

The sad part about it is that Paul wanted to retire in LA with the team he led from 2011 to 2017. His post yesterday also showed his pride in the Lob City era of the Clippers. If he’s shipped elsewhere, that’s not one of the remaining three teams in California; this would only get more heartbreaking.

Lose-lose situation for Chris Paul all over

The Clippers are losing while James Harden is producing league-wide highs, and Kawhi Leonard is playing like he was never injured. Yet those mounting losses aren’t hurting fans more than their incomprehensible decisions. For a while, fans feared the Aspiration drama was going to result in a punishment that would ruin CP3’s farewell tour. But this is worse.

Lawrence Frank’s statement directly refers to the 40-year-old’s recent lackluster streak. The team’s official statement, as conveyed by the GM, reads as follows.

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“We are parting ways with Chris, and he will no longer be with the team. We will work with him on the next step of his career. Chris is a legendary Clipper who has 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.”

The “underperformance” is the point guard averaging 2.6 points per game this season. The Clippers lost another game to the Miami Heat, where Paul had eight points. Yet fans don’t feel his single-digit output warrants this treatment.

A trade would be a bigger slap in the face than to be silently sent packing. The possibility is also bleak. He was never a trade target, and if the Lakers intend to call front offices to take him, they only have two weeks for that.

The NBA mandates teams to have 14 players on the roster. They can only be understaffed for two weeks before they’re forced to fill that gap. While Paul is made to watch NBA games on his TV at home instead of the bench, the Clippers have to resolve his roster spot in a fortnight.

The instant fix would be to waive Paul after the minimum salary prorates and sign someone else. Yet again, waiving him without giving him a deserved retirement game, like the kind Paul’s friends Dwyane Wade or Kobe Bryant got, will alienate fans from the franchise.