The Los Angeles Clippers stunned the NBA on Wednesday when they abruptly parted ways with Chris Paul, and the franchise is facing a great deal of criticism over the move.
Paul shared a message on his Instagram story just before 3 a.m. on Wednesday morning revealing that he “just found out I’m being sent home.” The post included a peace sign emoji but no context. A short while later, the Clippers confirmed that they have decided to move on from Paul.
Fans and members of the media were shocked at the seemingly unceremonious way in which the Clippers have severed ties with one of the best players in team history. Some people compared the situation to when L.A. traded Blake Griffin months after convincing him to sign a new deal and become a lifelong Clipper.
Chris Paul, a future Hall of Famer I expected to be the first Clipper to get his jersey retired one day, getting sent home at this stage is one of the most astonishing things I’ve seen covering this league.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) December 3, 2025
The clippers releasing Chris Paul with no warning during his last NBA season is absolutely despicable. Quite literally your best player in franchise history and you do tht??? Inexcusable and tasteless
— Goodzzz (@Dagoodzzz) December 3, 2025
Blake Griffin wanted to retire a Clipper. Seven months after signing a five-year, $171 million deal to stay in L.A., the Clippers traded him to Detroit.
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) December 3, 2025
Chris Paul wanted to retire a Clipper. Five months after coming home, the Clippers released him in the middle of the night. pic.twitter.com/PciyObKLnP
Sure, the NBA is a business and there are decisions that need to be made without emotion involved…
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) December 3, 2025
But the Clippers have 0 retired jerseys. Blake Griffin and Chris Paul are the two greatest players in franchise history.
Blake was shipped to Detroit just months after getting a…
I don’t care how bad the team is playing or the fact that he’s been struggling
— 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒆 🌩 (@Three_Cone) December 3, 2025
Sending a franchise legend and an all time great home in his final season after he picked to play there is weak as hell
Hope Chris Paul can end up somewhere competitive before the end of the season https://t.co/RgSkAMrDWt
I genuinely cannot believe the Clippers organization did Chris Paul like that, a franchise legend while at it too. Such a horrible look for any future superstar that would want to set up base there. Terrible franchise decision.
— HTB ♨️ (@HenryTheBlasian) December 3, 2025
The Clippers will probably claim there was a lot that went into the decision to cut Paul. The 40-year-old seemed to suggest in a recent social media post that he was unhappy, so there may have been some issues behind the scenes.
Still, Paul is one of the most respected players in NBA history and a 12-time All-Star. The fact that he announced in the middle of the night that he was being “sent home” by the Clippers is a horrible look for the franchise.
The Clippers can either waive Paul and pay the remainder of his $3.7 million salary, negotiate a buyout with him or trade him. A trade would have to wait until Dec. 15 because of league rules, as Paul just re-signed with the Clippers this past offseason.
Paul had played sparingly with the Clippers and was not a significant part of head coach Tyronn Lue’s rotation. CP3 appeared in 16 games and averaged 2.9 points and 3.3 assists while playing just 14.3 minutes per game.
