Breakups are hard.
How do you tell someone that what you two have isn't working for you anymore? How do you close a chapter of your life, inevitably hurt a longtime partner and defining core of some of your happiest memories, and live with yourself? Well, for starters, don't listen to the Los Angeles Clippers' front office.
Clippers really screwed up their breakup with Chris Paul
To recap on their relationship with legendary point guard Chris Paul, after the NBA vetoed a trade that would have seen Paul as a Laker in Dec 2011, a deal was made days later that sent him to the Clippers. Los Angeles' new core of Paul, Blake Griffin, and Deandre Jordan then spent the next six years at or near the top of the Western Conference.
While they never even make it to the Western Conference Finals under Paul's watch, the Lob City Clippers are easily the best iteration of the franchise. Paul, Griffin, and Jordan own the first, second, and third-most All-NBA selections in franchise history (Jordan's three have since been tied by Kawhi Leonard), and the Clippers' six-straight playoff runs under Paul's tenure nearly matched their previous franchise total. Paul was then traded to the Houston Rockets in 2017, and finally returned to the Clippers for the 2025-26 season after bouncing around the Western Conference.
Which brings us to what has shaped up to be a frankly embarrassing early season for the team, capped off by one of the messiest, most bitter breakups of player and team in modern NBA history. In the late evening of Dec 2, Los Angeles announced late in the evening that they were releasing Paul, apparently sending him home in the middle of their road trip.
Pretty messy right? Even at age 40, averaging 2.9 points and 3.3 assists over just 14.3 minutes per game, that's not how any breakup should go. However, as disappointing and ugly as this breakup has been, it's not all that surprising.
This isn't the first time Los Angeles has been involved in a messy breakup
It seems that the Clippers has a rough history saying goodbye to their biggest stars. You don't even have to leave Lob City territory to get a view on how messy they are as an organization.
Take Blake Griffin's trade to the Detoit Pistons in 2018. His career to that point had been a bit marred by injury, but Griffin had just signed a massive five-year, $171 million extension with the team. Months earlier, Griffin had gathered with Clippers brass in a massive event celebrating his career, saying that he wanted his 'legacy to be as a Clipper'. Goes to show you that you really should argue for no trade clauses in your contracts.
If you go back further to the Clippers' (then the Buffalo Braves) first days in the league, you also uncover one of the earlier Luka Doncic-sized lopsided trades of all time. Coming straight off of three-straight MVP-level campaigns (and one win), Bob McAdoo was in the middle of a 26 & 12 season when new team owner John Y. Brown traded him to the New York Knicks for John Gianelli (who!?) and cash. The breakdown of relations between McAdoo and Brown stemmed from McAdoo's contract wishes and a larger personality clash.
Sound familiar?
In any case, whether it was McAdoo or the Lob City team, the Clippers have absolutely bungled their way out of good relationships with stars at nearly every point during their existence.
Again -- not surprising, especially not at this point. Just disappointing.