Chris Paul’s retirement tour just took an unexpected detour.
The Clippers announced at 3 a.m. EST that Paul was no longer part of the team in a move that shocked the NBA world.
Paul confirmed the move on an Instagram Story, saying the team had sent him home from Atlanta — where the Clippers were to play the Hawks Wednesday night — back to Los Angeles.
Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank confirmed the move to ESPN.
“We are parting ways with Chris and he will no longer be with the team,” Frank told the network in a statement. “We will work with him on the next step of his career.”
That would indicate the Clippers could try to trade Paul, who signed a one-year, $3.6 million deal with the team in the offseason.
The Post’s Stefan Bondy reported last week that the Knicks internally “broached” the idea of trying to acquire Paul in a trade. Leon Rose, the Knicks’ president of basketball operations, represented Paul for years when he was an agent.
Paul had spent six extraordinary seasons with the Clippers in the 2010s during the prime of his Hall of Fame career. Despite a litany of regular-season success, he was never able to lead the franchise past the second round of the playoffs.
“Chris is a legendary Clipper who has had a historic career. I want to make one thing very clear. No one is blaming Chris for our underperformance. I accept responsibility for the record we have right now. There are a lot of reasons why we’ve struggled. We’re grateful for the impact Chris has made on the franchise,” Frank added in the statement.
Paul, 40, announced last month this would be his last NBA season.
It is an unexpected turn in what has been an abysmal season for the Clippers, who are 5-16 after many believed they could be contenders for an NBA championship with an experience-laden team led by Kawhi Leonard and James Harden.
Paul is averaging 2.6 points and 3.3 assists while playing just 14.3 minutes per game — all career lows — and he didn’t play at all in five straight games in mid-November.
Paul had eight points and three assists while playing 15 minutes against the Heat in what turned out to be his final game with the team — a game in which Harden and other starters were effectively benched, in the latest sign of discord for coach Tyronn Lue’s team.
The Clippers are on a five-game skid, and they’re tied with Sacramento for the second-worst record in the Western Conference heading into Wednesday’s games. Leonard has been limited to 10 games by injuries, and they’ve already lost guard Bradley Beal to season-ending hip surgery.
The Clippers’ streak of 14 consecutive winning seasons is the longest active streak in the NBA, but owner Steve Ballmer’s club has yet to show signs of contention this season — and now they’re going forward without a historically talented point guard and franchise favorite.
— With AP
