© Sergio Estrada/Imagn
The Los Angeles Clippers’ 2025-26 season was off to a brutal start before they even played their first game, and somehow things have only gotten worse from there.
Prior to the season even starting, LA was dealing with a report that superstar Kawhi Leonard, who was also injured at the time, received a sham endorsement deal that helped the team circumvent the NBA salary cap. The league is currently investigating the matter.
The Clippers then proceeded to begin the season 6-16, the third-worst record in the Western Conference and sixth-worst in the entire league.
Somehow, they then magnified their problems by suddenly cutting future Hall of Fame point guard and franchise legend Chris Paul.
Kawhi Leonard And James Harden Don’t Understand Chris Paul Getting Cut
ESPN insider Shams Charania reported that Paul had repeatedly clashed with head coach Ty Lue and that “Paul and his leadership style clashed with the Clippers, sources tell ESPN. Paul has been vocal in holding management, coaches and players accountable, which the team felt became disruptive.”
But fellow superstars Leonard and James Harden didn’t seem to feel the same way. At least not publicly.
“I’m just as confused and shocked as you guys, the world,” Harden said after the Clippers beat the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night. “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 have to focus on, and what I can control. I guess the front office felt that was the best decision for the organization.”
The often soft-spoken Leonard even commented on the move.
“It was shocking to me,” Leonard said. “I guess they had a conversation, and (the) front office made a decision.”
Meanwhile, the Clippers don’t hold the rights to their own first-round pick in the NBA Draft until 2030, and could lose that if the NBA finds that the organization did circumvent the league’s salary cap.
So, safe to say, things are a bit of a disaster for Steve Ballmer and company at the moment.