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DeMarcus Cousins believes the Clippers are being dishonest about the Chris Paul situation
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- DeMarcus Cousins believes the Clippers are being dishonest about the Chris Paul situation
Reactions flooded in from fans and former NBA players after the Los Angeles Clippers waived Chris Paul in the early morning hours of Wednesday. Details have also emerged from the people directly connected with this, including the franchise's official statement and Lawrence Frank's press conference.
However, DeMarcus Cousins doubts the Clippers are telling the whole story. For the former multi-time All-Star, some things do not hold up under further scrutiny.
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"This is smoke and mirrors to me. It's one big ego trip," Cousins said on FanDuel TV's "Run it Back."
When Michelle Beadle asked if somebody was lying, Boogie let the machine guns go.
"This is the NBA, they are always lying," Cousins added, now with a serious face. "That's what they do. They throw rocks and hide their [intent]. This is typical NBA behavior."
Details that raise red flags
As expected of the temperamental NBA veteran, Cousins admitted he tried to read between the lines about the reported details of this nasty breakup.
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To his point, things just don't make sense.
First, some, including his co-host Lou Williams , revealed that Paul was constantly on everybody's ear and that the front office grew tired of hearing it. Instead of shunning it, Boogie believes that is how it should be.
"Why do you have a problem with leadership and accountability if you came into the season talking about we want to compete for a championship?" Cousins asked. "When you compete for a championship, all of those things come with it? There's gonna be hard conversations, conversations that you don't wanna hear. There's going to be days when your leader is chirping at you and you just gotta accept it."
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Second, there were reports that James Harden and Kawhi Leonard were as surprised as everybody else after the news of CP's ouster spread. And yet, the talks indicate players eventually got fed up with his voice.
So, if the team's two best players supposedly had no reason to push Paul out, why would the Clippers do it?
"I'm just confused. Like, if those are your two star players, if they aren't complaining about his leadership or his voice, then it doesn't matter. Nobody else matters," Cousins stated.
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As Williams further stated, just as confusing was the disrespect for the Clippers' best player, the same guy who guided the franchise to relevance. CP3 may very well be the very first jersey up the rafters of Intuit Dome and now, that bridge may have been burned forever.
Chandler Parsons thinks Harden and Leonard knew what was going on
To Cousins' point about The Beard and The Klaw, Chandler Parsons says that's not how the NBA works. No roster change, especially as newsworthy as waiving a future Hall of Famer, happens without the consent of the team's two best players.
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"I think we also can agree that a decision like this is not made without James Harden and Kawhi Leonard not being somewhat aware. I'm not accusing anybody of lying, but those are the two best players. They make all the money. They knew or approved this was going to happen," Parsons said.
Whatever version of events the Clippers put out there, the disconnect is impossible to ignore.
A team chasing stability can't afford this level of confusion, especially when it involves one of the most respected veterans of this era. If they could do this to someone like CP, they could do this to anyone.
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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.
