After being rather unceremoniously kicked to the curb by the Clippers, Chris Paul received one final parting gesture from the organization he once called home.
Paul was sent home by the Clippers in a stunning turn of events this season after the team reportedly decided Paul wasn’t worth the trouble and aggravation. The veteran guard’s leadership approach and ”locker room lawyering” seemed to rub his teammates and coaches the wrong way and ultimately led to Paul packing his bags just 16 games into his retirement tour.
Even though Paul didn’t get his fairytale ending with the Clippers, the organization apparently isn’t leaving him out in the cold. A new report from Jake Fischer of The Stein Line revealed that the Clippers currently plan to work with Paul to help him land on his feet.
Here’s what Fischer wrote:
“I've also been told — in strong terms — that the Clippers do want to work in tandem with Paul and his CAA representation to find him a new home. The 40-year-old indicated last week that he is more likely than not to keep playing even if it means leaving Los Angeles and league sources insist that the Clippers, in a nod to Paul's status as a franchise legend, do want to help him relocate.
“That's the case, sources say, no matter how much the abrupt circumstances of Paul's late-night banishment from the team in an Atlanta meeting with president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank might suggest otherwise.”
It's a nice gesture from the Clippers organization—though one could also argue it's the least they could do, considering the circumstances of the 12-time All-Star's chilly exile.
Paul, 40, understandably wanted to end his 21-year NBA career in Los Angeles to stay close to his family. Now that he's been ushered out the door by the Clippers, he’s set to potentially close out his final season on a new team and leave the recent drama behind him. The Bucks, Knicks, Mavericks and Suns were interested in Paul before he signed with the Clippers in free agency, per Fischer’s sources, and Paul may shift his priorities to more basketball-related aspects like playing time and role on the court.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as New Report Reveals Clippers’ Final Parting Gesture for Chris Paul After Cutting Ties.
