Why the Clippers Haven't Formally Moved on From Chris Paul Just Yet

L.A. will have to do one of three things to actually move on from CP3.

Paul had already made clear his intention to retire at the end of the season. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The NBA world was thrown for a loop early Wednesday morning when it was announced that the Clippers would be moving on from veteran point guard Chris Paul, who signed with the team in July for what will be his final season.

“We are parting ways with Chris Paul and he will no longer be with the team,” president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said in a statement. “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 Clippers sit near the bottom of the Western Conference with a 5-16 record, tied with the Kings and above only the 3-19 Pelicans. In what could now be viewed as foreshadowing, Paul posted a cryptic message about "leeway" on Nov. 30, just a few days before the split.

Why the Clippers haven't moved on from Chris Paul just yet

Although L.A. has made clear that they plan to split ways with Paul, the team has not made clear how exactly they will do that. They have a few options:

They can (1) waive him and pay out his fully guaranteed $3.6 salary; (2) agree to a buyout, wherein Paul will forfeit some of his pay; or (3) look to trade him and thereby offload their salary obligations that way.

A straight waiver is unlikely because it would drop L.A. to just 13 players on standard contracts, and first-apron restrictions will prevent the team from filling that spot, per NBA analyst and Sportrac contributor Keith Smith. Teams can also only drop to 13 players for 14 days at a time, 28 days total.

A buyout could happen, but as Smith noted, a buyout of a minimum deal "isn't really a thing." That leaves the trade option, which the team cannot follow through on officially until Dec. 15, when free agents signed during the offseason are eligible to be dealt.

So, all that said, the team will most likely hold onto Paul—despite their "moving on"—until they have explored all trade possibilities. Should nothing materialize, perhaps then they would explore other options.

Paul is currently averaging 2.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists across 14.3 minutes off the bench per game.

Chris Paul's history with the Clippers

Although Paul, 40, has played on multiple teams throughout his storied career, he is best known for his stint in L.A., where he is the team's franchise leader in total assists and steals per game. From 2011 to 2017, Paul led the Clippers to six winning seasons, including L.A.'s first two Pacific Division titles and three postseason series victories.

The 2025 Clippers have had an abysmal start to the year. They're in the midst of a five-game skid and have lost 14 of their past 16 games, an already bad stat made worse by the loss of Bradley Beal (hip) in November.

Despite the drama, however, they'll have to pull it together for a road game Wednesday night, when they'll play the 13–9 Hawks at Atlanta's State Farm Arena.

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