The end of Chris Paul’s career was perhaps the biggest surprise of the NBA season. We all knew that the veteran point guard was going to retire at the end of the season, but the midseason rift between him and the Los Angeles Clippers, and the later trade-and-waive to the Toronto Raptors was utterly unexpected. Now, with all of that behind him, Paul has revealed more about what happened.

“I hit T. Lue, like, ‘I’d love to finish my career here,'” Paul explained during an appearance on long-time friend Carmelo Anthony’s 7PM in Brooklyn podcast. “L. Frank, I hit him, said the same thing early in the season. Lawrence Frank sent me an article about how great my leadership was. An article I’d never seen. He texted it to me saying, man, this is great leadership right here.”

Paul admitted that the early process of returning to the Clippers was an extremely emotional one, especially given that he knew that this year was likely his last. That’s what made the rift even harder to process.

He admitted that he spoke to Clippers star Kawhi Leonard weekly, reached out to both the front office and coaching staff, pushing back against the idea that his presence had suddenly become a problem.

Everything changed during training camp. Paul described speaking to a teammate at length before being taken aside and told not to advise teammates.

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“As soon as I went in the middle room, somebody came and told me they didn’t want me giving players advice,” Paul said. “I told them, I was like, you were my assistant coach, I know you. But it was just a lot of back and forth.”

Mixed Signals Inside the LA Clippers’ Power Structure For Chris Paul

Publicly, the Clippers maintained respect for Paul’s resume and leadership in every statement both before and after his exit from the team, but privately, the decision was made quickly.

The team was already navigating roster instability with Leonard’s injuries and Bradley Beal being out for the season, and Paul insisted he was never given any clarity on how things deteriorated between him and the team.

“Before I left the room, I asked him, I was like, ‘So, L. Frank, you said you was going to get me a meeting with T. Lue, right?” Paul added to Anthony. “He said, I’m sorry, I couldn’t do that. Go home.”

That was the final blow. According to various reports, Paul and Lue had tension simmering between them, reportedly not speaking to each other for weeks at a time, and the drama was apparently disregarded by the team the entire time.

One strong parallel is Carmelo Anthony’s brief, turbulent stint with the Houston Rockets during the 2018-19 season. Anthony signed a one-year deal expecting a key role alongside James Harden and Chris Paul, but after just 10 games (averaging 13.4 points), the Rockets parted ways with him unceremoniously.

Anthony later described feeling “fired” and blindsided, with GM Daryl Morey informing him he was no longer needed – deeper than basketball issues, per his accounts. This echoed themes of mismatched expectations for a veteran scorer, eroded relationships (including Paul’s reported involvement in Houston dynamics), and a quick exit without fanfare, much like Paul’s Clippers departure.

Paul has long been known as one of the most vocal leaders in the league and has been direct and unafraid of pushback or confrontation. For a franchise composed of veterans, shifting roster dynamics, and a quieter presence with Kawhi Leonard, that balance simply wasn’t in Paul’s favor.

Paul is clearly one of the greatest players in Clippers history, and, as Melo mentioned, his jersey is sure to be retired. Paul revealed that the sentiment had been expressed to him internally as well, right before he was let go. That moment feels representative of this series of events.