Chris Paul Is Right to Blast the Clippers for the Way They Treated Him

The Los Angeles Clippers have a lot of damage control to do regarding their reputation as a franchise. But the embarrassing Kawhi Leonard saga that cost them five first-round picks is not the only public relations hit they took in 2026.

The way they treated Chris Paul in his final year in the NBA was forgotten after everything else that went down with the Clippers last season. Real Clippers fans were understandably very upset about the organization's disrespect for arguably the best player in franchise history.

Now that the Steve Ballmer ownership and the Lawrence Frank front office have disgraced the franchise with the flagrant cap circumvention, it makes the Chris Paul saga look even worse.

Chris Paul Provides Emotional Insight Into His Last Season With the Clippers

After a difficult start to the season by the Clippers, Chris Paul was sent home abruptly in the middle of a road trip. His conflict with the coaching staff was made public, and CP3 was thrown under the bus weeks after he announced that this would be his final season in the NBA.

Instead of giving their best player in franchise history a farewell tour in an already-lost season that wasn't going anywhere, the Clippers made him the scapegoat. They eventually traded him to the Toronto Raptors at the deadline. Paul wasn't interested in finishing out his career in Toronto, and the Raptors weren't particularly interested in having the 40-year-old point guard there.

The Clippers didn't post a farewell message or share a tribute until after Paul announced his retirement after not being able to find a team.

This is clearly not how respectable franchises treat their legends. Paul largely took the high road after his departure, until this week. He spoke in depth about his feelings about how the Clippers treated him last season. And it's difficult to disagree with him.

On the Build or Break podcast, Paul referred to what the Clippers did to him last season as "probably one of the most disrespectful things that I've endured."

He added, "Obviously I was upset, but my family, my people, everybody... I think just because of the investment we made in the team for as long as we have, and to see the way stuff was handled. What it lets you know is that no matter what you do or what you’ve done, nobody cares."

One has to feel for CP3. He put the Clippers on the NBA map as much as any player. During his six-year tenure in LA, the Clippers never missed the playoffs, the longest streak in their history. The franchise had never had a 50-win season before Paul got there. While he was there, the Clippers had five straight 50-win campaigns.

He understandably wanted to retire a Clipper, but Ballmer & Co. didn't let that happen.

Under Ballmer's ownership, there has been a real push to turn the Clippers into an elite NBA franchise. The Chris Paul treatment, followed by the Kawhi Leonard punishment, suggests that there is a long way to go.

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