Clippers' Inability to Solve Chris Paul Situation Is Hurting Them

The Los Angeles Clippers still haven't found Chris Paul a new home, actively hurting their season.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Chris Paul was sent home by the Los Angeles Clippers on December 3 and became trade eligible on December 15. Yet, he remains on the team as the franchise has yet to find a solution. Every day that passes without a resolution is hurting the Clippers as they continue their descent to the bottom of the Western Conference with a 6-21 record.

The Clippers have 14 guaranteed contracts, leaving one roster spot open. Since they are hard-capped at the apron, they can't sign a free agent. With Paul not available, the Clippers are wasting another roster spot. With Bradley Beal out for the season and Derrick Jones Jr. still sidelined, the Clippers are down to 11 players.

Clippers Are Making Their Chris Paul Blunder Worse

More importantly, they don't have a traditional backup point guard, having to rely on Kobe Sanders, who is on a two-way deal, to take on that role. Without James Harden, the Clippers turned the ball over a whopping 28 times, Sanders and Kris Dunn each committing six turnovers.

Not only do the Clippers have a shortage of ball-handlers in the rotation without CP3, but they also lack depth across the board. Having to seriously depend on two-way players like Sanders and Jordan Miller has been a problem all season. As long as the Clippers can't solve the Chris Paul situation, this will continue to be the case.

The Clippers can either trade Paul to a team and get a role player back, or move him for draft capital and open up a roster spot. They can then sign a reserve guard in free agency to alleviate some of their concerns.

If they can't trade him, the Clippers can still waive Paul and convert Sanders to a guaranteed contract. This would at least open up a two-way spot, which they can use on a backup guard who can give them a temporary boost at the very least.

The fact that the Clippers haven't been able to find a trade for Paul in almost three weeks is concerning. Lawrence Frank, acting without a sense of urgency, doesn't instill confidence in Clippers fans as the team puts on one embarrassing performance after another, losing 13 of their last 15 games. The front office's handling of Chris Paul's last season was a disaster on its own, but the way they have acted since then has been almost as infuriating.