Clippers Officially Explain Parting Ways with Paul: The Meeting Lasted 3 Hours, Root Cause Was Roster Fit

On December 4th Beijing time, after deciding to part ways with future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers' President of Basketball OperationsFrank assumed “full responsibility” for the team's disappointing season while assuring the media and fans that Paul was not being blamed unfairly.

During an online press conference on Wednesday afternoon local time, Frank stated that the decision to send Paul home early from the team's road trip “was not because of poor team results... We are not going to let Chris Paul be the scapegoat. The team has many problems, and we will address each issue contributing to the disappointing performance.”

While taking responsibility for the team's 5-16 record, Frank also sought to empathize with the fans' anger and disappointment.

“This is not the style of basketball we associate with the Clippers,” Frank said. “I take full responsibility for that. But the team needs to compete with greater focus, effort, resilience, and determination. We have the capability to improve, and I firmly believe the team will turn things around.”

Although Frank deliberately avoided showing any disrespect toward Paul—a 12-time All-Star and one of the NBA’s 75 greatest players—he revealed that he had made the decision to part ways with Paul on Sunday evening. Earlier that same day, Paul had posted a screenshot on his Instagram Story defining the word “leeway.”

On Monday morning, Frank sent Paul a text message hoping to meet after the team arrived in Atlanta. However, before their meeting, the Clippers suffered a heavy defeat against the Miami Heat Monday night, with the margin reaching as high as 38 points.

Frank disclosed that the team’s flight to Atlanta was delayed, and his face-to-face meeting with Paul did not take place until about 11 PM local time on Tuesday, lasting approximately three hours.

About 40 minutes after the meeting ended, Paul announced on his Instagram Story that he had been sent home by the team, which contrasted sharply with an earlier video he shared highlighting his peak moments playing alongside Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan in the “Lob City” era.

“This was an extremely difficult decision,” Frank said, explaining that the reason for parting ways with Paul was due to roster fit rather than any single incident or meeting. “But I believe it was the right choice for the team and the entire organization.”

Frank admitted that the roster he and head coach Tyronn Lue assembled failed to perform as expected, taking responsibility for the decision to move on from Paul. He stated the Clippers’ performance on both offense and defense has been poor but emphasized that he and Lue will lead any future improvements.

“Our talent level is far above a 5-16 record,” Frank said.

Frank said that “the team’s improvement must start with me,” as he and Lue were jointly responsible for building the current roster, describing Lue as his partner in assembling the team.Frank then praised Lue’s coaching abilities and confirmed that Lue will remain the Clippers’ head coach “long-term,” with both of them working “together to find ways to improve within the current roster framework.”.

Frank refused to blame the team’s struggles on injuries and pointed out that progress must come from the players currently on the roster.

“So in my view, the core issue is that we need to become a good team again. Recently, our play has been too careless and sloppy, and the toughness and determination that have been a hallmark of this team for nearly 14 years—the so-called ‘Clippers grit’—are hard to find in this group right now,” Frank said.

The decision to part ways with Paul is actually quite complex. Paul will only be eligible for a trade after December 16, and the Clippers currently have just 14 standard contracts. Due to salary cap restrictions, they cannot waive Paul at this time. Therefore, starting with the game in Atlanta on Wednesday night, Paul will be indefinitely listed as “out—not with the team,” while the Clippers look for a new destination for him.

When asked if Paul’s role in the roster might change this month, Frank replied, “I mean, we will continue to evaluate. We will keep communicating with Chris’s agent about his situation and explore all possible options until we gain the ability to adjust the standard roster spots.”

Frank further expressed strong confidence in Lue, who has been the Clippers’ head coach since replacing Doc Rivers in 2020. Lue’s contract was renewed during the 2024 offseason and runs through 2029, longer than any player’s contract on the team.

“Ty (Tyronn Lue’s nickname) is the key to our success and the core driving force,” Frank said of the only coach in franchise history to lead the team to a conference semifinals appearance in 2021. “We have always valued organizations that maintain consistency, whether in the NBA or elsewhere. We have studied examples where organizations, when facing difficulties, simply keep making changes and eventually lose their foundation. Here, we have clear accountability and never shy away from problems. We have very honest and deep conversations about what everyone needs to improve. At the same time, we have full confidence in Tyronn Lue, who has already proven his capability. I want to emphasize again that he is one of the top coaches in the league.”

The Clippers’ roster still includes James Harden (potential free agent in 2026), Kawhi Leonard (free agent in 2027), and Ivica Zubac (free agent in 2028), while most other players’ contracts expire after this season. Despite the awkward situation of Paul’s departure,Frank firmly believes that “as long as Steve Ballmer remains the team owner, the Clippers will continue to be an attractive destination for star players.”

When asked about the impact on the team’s reputation of trading away another legendary player seven years after the blockbuster Griffin deal, Frank responded: “I think you have to accept all consequences and provide a reasonable context for everything without avoiding responsibility. We made this decision after careful consideration because we fully understood the potential chain reaction—stars the team had high hopes for ultimately did not fit. Even so, you still have to do what is best for the team and organization. We have always believed the Clippers are a very strong basketball organization. It’s important to know that at different stages of roster iteration, we have produced outstanding regular-season performances, with Chris being a key part of that; then with another roster, we reached the conference semifinals; now, we are in a new phase of roster rebuilding.”