James Harden, Kawhi 'Shocked' by Chris Paul Exit, How Did They Learn of Clippers Exit?
Los Angeles Clippers stars James Harden and Kawhi Leonard apparently weren't given a heads up about the team's decision to move on from Chris Paul before it happened.
The Clippers confirmed Wednesday the legendary point guard is no longer part of their plans with immediate effect.
Following a 115-92 win over the Atlanta Hawks, Harden told reporters he "woke up and saw it on social media" like everyone else.
"I'm just as confused and shocked as you guys, the world," the 11-time All-Star said. "Definitely surprised me. But not just Chris, it's a lot that we were dealing with. But that is out of my hands. I got to focus on what I got to focus on and what I can control. I guess the front office felt that was the best decision for the organization."
Leonard had a similar reaction.
"It was shocking to me," he said. "I guess they had a conversation, and front office made a decision."
ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Paul's relationship with head coach Ty Lue had broken down to the point where they weren't "on speaking terms" for a period of "several weeks."
Lue and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank didn't get into the specifics of why Paul is being jettisoned.
Frank went out of his way to say the Clippers "are not scapegoating Chris Paul" as they sit at just 6-16, even with Wednesday's victory.
"We have many issues, and we're going to address each issue for our underperformance," the executive said.
Lue added that signing Paul in the offseason "just didn't work out like we thought it would," and the 40-year-old floor general "just wasn't a good fit."
Paul seemed to take things in stride. He shared a screenshot of a FaceTime conversation with former "Lob City" teammates Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan:
Even though Harden and Leonard weren't told directly that Paul was on the way out, they had to sense the general tension between Paul and Lue. And something clearly needed to change with Los Angeles falling well short of expectations.
Maybe waiving or trading Paul will prove to be addition by subtraction.
