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Brian Windhorst details the Clippers' mishandling of the Chris Paul situation
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- Brian Windhorst details the Clippers' mishandling of the Chris Paul situation
Yes, the Los Angeles Clippers actually waived Chris Paul in a move that caught the NBA world off guard. Many questioned why the Clippers chose this route with a future first ballot Hall of Famer.
Brian Windhorst , however, was more bothered by how the Clippers executed it.
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"First off, Lawrence Frank had this press conference yesterday and he said, 'Put all the blame on me,'" Windhorst told Dan Patrick on "The Dan Patrick Show." "Maybe Lawrence wanted to do it, but I promise you, it's not only him who wanted to do it. But, doing it the way they did it, he said that they made the decision on Sunday, Dan."
From there, Windy started to break down the timeline and came to a similar conclusion to that of Jorge Sedano. Some things don't add up and the way they handled the situation was unbecoming of a professional ball club.
The Clippers sent CP3 home at 3 AM
For Windhorst, the writing was on the wall for Paul's release. If it wasn't now, the Clippers could release him at some point later. The ESPN analyst cited how CP3 has always been vocal throughout his remarkable career, but his leash on the team was shorter because he was no longer the player he once was.
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"When you're the star player and the point guard playing 82 games and your team is competing for conference titles or whatever, that's one thing. When you're that and the team is sinking and you're of a much smaller, role, it doesn't work. I knew this 20 years ago when I started in the NBA," added Windhorst.
They say a tiger cannot change its stripes and that is certainly the case with Paul. Even after becoming a shell of his former self, he will hold others accountable because that's who he is. It's a fine attribute, but could also annoy people from up and down the organization.
However, the real issue was that the Clippers released CP in such a disrespectful manner. As Windhorst noted, Frank told the media that they had already decided on Sunday, November 30. If that's the case, why would Paul still play over 14 minutes in a loss against Miami on Monday?
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Paul then accompanied the team on a flight to Atlanta on Tuesday. The Clippers, as told by Frank, held a meeting almost as soon as they landed at 11 PM and then told CP3 he was to be sent home four hours later, at three o'clock in the morning.
"Why do you do it [the meeting] at 11 o'clock? The actual functionality of the way they handled it is wretched," concluded Windy.
Related: DeMarcus Cousins believes the Clippers are being dishonest about the Chris Paul situation
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A pattern of missteps in L.A.
Windhorst and the people in the NBA circles were right. The Clippers had one job to do: bid goodbye to Paul and somehow, they still messed up.
Still, it fits right in with the casual chaos in the franchise.
The team was mired in controversy from the Donald Sterling days until recently, with Steve Ballmer's salary cap circumvention accusations . Moreover, head coach Tyronn Lue was linked to the gambling scandals that rocked the NBA, which involved a rigged poker game and whatnot.
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Perhaps the league keeps holding the Clippers to a standard they have never consistently met . Missteps like the handling of the Paul waiver are not outliers anymore; they have become the norm.
Until the franchise can prove otherwise, decisions like the ugly CP3 exit will keep defining them more than what they did on the basketball court.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Dec 4, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
