Chris Paul Saga Highlights Everything That’s Wrong With the Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers' treatment of Chris Paul in his final season was unacceptable.

Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Clippers are the only team in the NBA that has never retired a jersey number. They have only made the Conference Finals once in their history and remain one of five teams to have never made the NBA Finals. With an extremely limited history of winning and a lack of true franchise icons, the Clippers have understandably lagged behind their intercity rivals, the Lakers.

If any one player can be associated with changing the fate of the Clippers and making them an attractive destination, it is Chris Paul. He put the Clippers on the NBA map as much as any player can do for a franchise. During Paul’s six seasons in LA, the Clippers never missed the playoffs, their longest streak in history. The franchise had never had a 50-win season before CP3 got there, and he led them to five straight such seasons.

Not only is Paul easily the greatest player in Clippers history, but he is also one of the best point guards to ever play the game. One would therefore think that an organization desperate to build a legacy and become a destination would treat its franchise icons better.

Clippers Hurt Their Reputation By Doing Chris Paul Dirty

Yet, the Clippers ruined Paul’s farewell tour. The 40-year-old point guard signed with the Clippers in the offseason, only to be sent home abruptly in the middle of a road trip. The conflict with the coaching staff was made public, and Paul was thrown under the bus only weeks after he announced that this would be his final season in the NBA.

What did the Clippers really expect would happen when they signed Paul? That he would be quiet while the team got off to a 6-21 start? Signing one of the most vocal leaders of his generation, but being bothered so much when he spoke up, resulting in keeping him away from the team, was a series of bizarre decisions.

When the Clippers finally traded him to the Toronto Raptors, they didn’t even post a farewell message or share a tribute. Only after Paul announced his retirement on Thursday did the Clippers acknowledge it and thanked him with a video on social media.

This is just not how good organizations treat their legends. They make sure their all-timers are taken care of. The Clippers failed to do so for their greatest ever player.

Steve Ballmer has been focused on turning the Clippers into an elite organization. He has been willing to pay whatever it takes, both in terms of salaries and luxury tax, but also in organizational expenses.

Yet class and loyalty are two things you can’t buy. If the Clippers want to be a top-tier organization, they have to be better at treating the people who contributed to their success.