The NBA world was rocked on Wednesday when the Los Angeles Clippers announced they would release veteran guard Chris Paul. The 40-year-old athlete announced that the 2025-26 season would be his final year in the league. A farewell tour was planned to honor the legacy he will leave. However, fans might not see that after the Clippers decide to part ways with Paul.
Initially, the team’s 5-16 record was thought to be the reason for the decision. But general manager Lawrence Frank and head coach Ty Lue reiterated that Paul wasn’t the best fit with the team. In a statement from the Clippers’ front office, Frank revealed that the franchise made things work with CP3 since he signed a one-year deal.
“This decision had nothing to do with one incident or one meeting that did or did not happen,” Frank said. “Some of our business, respectfully have to keep in-house, but this didn’t come down to just a one incident and one meeting.
On Wednesday’s episode of FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back,” former NBA star Lou Williams revealed what led to the Clippers’ decision to let Chris Paul go.
“From what I’ve gathered, there were a few scenarios in which CP was holding people accountable, from players to staff, from coaching staff up to the front office,” Williams said.
"CP3 was holding players and coaches accountable… he was critical of the front office… that was the straw that broke the camel's back."
Lou Williams gives insider info on the Clippers and Chris Paul 😱@MichelleDBeadle | @boogiecousins | @ChandlerParsons | @TeamLou23 pic.twitter.com/WLQsEX8T6b
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) December 3, 2025
“He even addressed the team and apologized and said, ‘Look, my criticisms are coming from a good place. I want us to be a good team. I want us to get this thing right.’ And he was just holding guys accountable. Now, how some of that talk was taken or interpreted, that’s up for the players and the coaching staff that were involved in how they felt about it.”
Williams also said that Paul’s comments toward the front office were the final straw.
Lou Williams called out Lawrence Frank after Chris Paul’s release
What Lawrence Frank did to Chris Paul wasn’t anything new. When Lou Williams was still playing in the NBA, he had a similar experience with the Los Angeles Clippers. Williams revealed on “Run It Back” that the general manager promised he wouldn’t be traded. Unfortunately for the three-time Sixth Man of the Year, he was shortly traded to the Atlanta Hawks.
“This person told me I can relax, I’m not getting traded. 15 minutes later, I was an Atlanta Hawk,” Williams said.
Lou Williams can no longer stay silent on Lawrence Frank 👀
"This person told me I can relax, I'm not getting traded. 15 minutes later I was an Atlanta Hawk. Now we have this scenario… it's bad business."@MichelleDBeadle | @boogiecousins | @ChandlerParsons | @TeamLou23 pic.twitter.com/64UQSgiqtz
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) December 3, 2025
Williams said that Frank’s actions are “bad for business.” Especially what he did with Paul, who’s considered to be one of the franchise’s greatest players. CP3 played six seasons with the Clippers and helped turn the team into “Lob City” with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.
Under his leadership, LA was in the playoffs in every season he was there.
Credit: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Sean M. Haffey / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
For other sports-related content:
Follow me on X at @BarbecueBro, and follow us at @HardwoodHeroics and @GridironHeroics. You can also reach out to Reign Amurao via email at reignamuraonba@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
