Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were teammates for six years — the best on-court six years in Clippers history. The Lob City Clippers won 50+ games five of those seasons and were a legitimate title contender in a few of those years, a team undone by injuries, meltdowns, and one ugly ownership change in the middle of that run. Griffin was one of many CP3 teammates over the years who occasionally chaffed at the point guard’s in-your-face leadership style, but there was mutual respect, and together (with DeAndre Ayton and others) they turned the Clippers from a laughingstock of a franchise into one that had to be respected.
Griffin was famously and unceremoniously traded by the Clippers six months after signing a max extension with the team. Those ice-cold Clippers were back this week with their awkward decision to send Chris Paul home and away from the team during a road trip — and to do it in the middle of the night.
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Griffin now works as part of the Amazon Prime NBA coverage, and he was asked Friday for his thoughts on the situation and he called out his former franchise.
“I’m just disappointed. To be honest. I can’t think of really another word. Obviously shocked at first. But disappointed. I’m disappointed for Chris Paul.
“But I’m disappointed in the Clippers organization. I mean, Chris Paul is a guy who came to the Clippers, when DeAndre and I were first and second-year guys. He brought a winning culture. He taught us how to operate in the NBA, and how to take every game seriously, how to take your body seriously, that there was no detail that was too small. And we weren’t perfect, right? Like, we failed ultimately win a championship. I know that. I’m reminded of it every day. And CP and I didn’t always see eye to eye. But I’m disappointed because we got to a franchise that was synonymous with jokes. Right? You heard the Clippers, and you heard the curse. And, again, we didn’t win a championship, but we did create a culture and an environment that people respected. You know, every year, you knew the Clippers were gonna be competitive.
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“And Chris Paul, for 20 years, has been the same player. He’s been about winning. And, you know, re-signed with the Clippers. This was supposed to be his moment, his, you know, coming back to LA. You know, ‘I’m giving it one last go.’ And for him to not get to walk out on his own terms, from the franchise that he chose to go to to end his career, is extremely disappointing. But I think the biggest reason I’m disappointed is what Chris said: No communication with Ty Lue. And, even more than that, you know, no communication — I talked to CP Wednesday, I talked to him yesterday, I talked to him today — no communication with Steve Ballmer. And that’s, like, the disappointing thing for me.”
Griffin is spot on — the Clippers knew exactly who they were bringing in when they re-signed Chris Paul this summer. His style in the locker room is not some secret around the league, and he’s the same guy now that he was when he was here a decade earlier. The guy who calls out everything is going to get annoying to hear on a 6-16 team, and Lue was probably tired of hearing it. The Clippers are also a franchise that has become known for letting its stars have some latitude off the court with team structures, and when the team isn’t winning, CP3 is going to call everyone out.
Whatever you think of the reasoning behind the Clippers sending CP3 home, how this team handled it was sloppy. The late-night news break, the lack of communication, it’s the kind of thing players and agents remember. It’s too much of what the Clippers used to be and not what they have worked to become as an organization under Ballmer.
Griffin is right, it’s been disappointing.