Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers had a surprising breakup in his return to the franchise. Before the 2025-26 NBA season, Paul signed a one-year deal to return to the franchise that he helped turn around. After 16 games, however, the veteran guard was sent home by the Clippers.
On Monday’s episode of “Gil’s Arena,” former NBA player Nick Young had a blunt breakdown of what happened between the two parties.
“Everybody’s not a leader,” Young said. “Everybody had that guy that always talk and think they’re the leader and n****s like, ‘Man, shut the f**k up.’
This CP3 situation is giving Gil and Nick flashbacks of being teammates with Caron Butler 💀😭 pic.twitter.com/YmdmFdN8eN
— Gil’s Arena (@GilsArenaShow) December 22, 2025
“If they not responsive to it, take another approach, try another angle. That’s what being a leader is about.”
After the Clippers sent CP3 home, there were reports that his leadership style wasn’t accepted well within the organization. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the leadership the former Wake Forest star showed clashed with what Los Angeles was trying to build.
Paul reportedly held his teammates and coaches accountable. Additional reports say that Chris Paul was not on speaking terms with coach Ty Lue.
Before returning to the Clippers, the 12-time All-Star was an icon within the franchise. He led the team to six straight playoff appearances and made the team competitive in the tough Western Conference. Los Angeles has gone 2-5 since removing the future Hall of Famer from the lineup.
Chris Paul’s former teammate, Austin Rivers, says the Clippers have no culture
Chris Paul threw a Halloween party in an effort to strengthen his relationships with his teammates while he was a member of the Clippers. However, only a handful of players arrived. Former NBA player Austin Rivers said that he isn’t surprised by the lack of culture within the organization.
“There’s zero culture there. He tried to set it and force it in his last year, and they didn’t want it,” Rivers said in his podcast, “Off Guard”. “And they didn’t accept it, and they got him out of there. It’s the bottom line. And then it just rubs people the wrong way with his success and history there as a Clipper. It is what it is.”
“It’s Chris, it’s Chris Paul. You know what I mean? It’s like what? No one showed up to Chris’s thing,” Rivers said. “It’s strange to me, but it doesn’t surprise me. There isn’t a culture there.”
Many didn’t anticipate Paul would be let go given his past with the franchise.
