In the wake of the decision to part ways with future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul, LA Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank took “full responsibility” for the team’s poor season, while assuring the media and fans that the organization was not making Paul a scapegoat.
In a remote meeting with the media Wednesday afternoon, Frank said the move to send Paul home from the team’s current trip was not “because of our underperformance … we are not scapegoating Chris Paul. We have many issues, and we’re going to address each issue for our underperformance.”
Frank attempted to acknowledge the anger and disappointment of the fan base while taking accountability for the team’s 5-16 record.
“This is not the type of Clipper basketball we’re used to seeing,” Frank said. “I own this. But we need to come and play with a whole lot more care, fight, resilience, resolve. We’re capable of being better, and I’m confident we will be better.”
Lawrence Frank is addressing the media remotely:
“Chris Paul had a legendary career, legendary Clipper. We did not make this move because of our underperformance… we are not scapegoating Chris Paul… we have great respect for Chris… we’re not blaming him”
— Law Murray 🎄 (@LawMurrayTheNU) December 3, 2025
Though Frank was careful not to disrespect Paul, a 12-time All-Star and a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team, Frank did share that he decided to part ways with Paul on Sunday night. Earlier Sunday morning, Paul shared via his Instagram stories the definition of the word “leeway” via a screenshot.
Monday morning, Frank texted Paul that he would like to meet with him after the team arrived in Atlanta. Before that meeting, however, the Clippers suffered a blowout loss to the Miami Heat on Monday night, trailing by as many as 38 points.
The plane to Atlanta was delayed, according to Frank, and the face-to-face meeting between Frank and Paul did not take place until 11 p.m. local time Tuesday. Frank said he met with Paul for about three hours.
About 40 minutes after the meeting, Paul shared on his Instagram stories that he was being sent home, a far cry from his previous Instagram reel that shared moments from his Lob City days with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.
“It was a really, really hard decision to make,” Frank said. He added that the decision to part ways with Paul was due to fit issues and wasn’t about any one incident or one meeting. “But I think,” he said, “the right one for the team and organization.”
Frank attempted to own his decision by saying that “the improvement starts with me,” as the roster he put together, with head coach Tyronn Lue as his partner, has underachieved. Frank went on to praise Lue’s coaching, saying he would continue in that role “for a long time” and that the duo would “figure out collectively how we can get better within this roster.” Frank acknowledged that the Clippers are “playing bad basketball … on both ends,” but he also suggested that he and Lue will oversee whatever improvement there is.
“We’re capable of being a whole lot better than a 5-16 team,” Frank said.
Frank refused to blame injuries for the team’s struggles and said improvements would have to come from those already on the roster.
“So, to me, the issue is we have to get back to being a good basketball team. Because we’ve just played way too casual, careless. The resolve and the resilience that have been kind of standards for us for close to 14 years — we talk about that Clipper grit, just have not seen it nearly enough with our group,” Frank said.
The decision to part ways with Paul is a complicated one. Paul is not trade-eligible until Dec. 15. The Clippers have only 14 standard contracts, so waiving Paul is not an option at this time due to salary-cap considerations. Therefore, Paul will be listed as “out — not with team” indefinitely, starting Wednesday night in Atlanta, while the Clippers find a way to relocate him.
“Most of all, you know, I’m in a Clipper uniform”
CP3 will end his Hall of Fame career at home ❤️ pic.twitter.com/IpmnHLBMSB
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) November 29, 2025
“I mean, we’ll evaluate,” Frank said when asked about Paul’s presence on the roster changing this month. “We’re gonna continue to work with Chris’ representatives in regards to Chris, and then we’ll continue to look at some of the different pathways we have prior to having the ability to do something with one of our standard roster spots.”
Frank then provided an even stronger vote of confidence for Lue, who has been the head coach since replacing Doc Rivers in 2020. Lue’s contract was extended in the 2024 offseason and runs through 2029, longer than any player on the roster.
“Ty’s a huge, huge reason and a huge driver for our success,” Frank said of Lue, the only head coach in franchise history to take the Clippers to the conference finals, a feat accomplished in 2021. “The organizations that we’ve had great respect — not just in the NBA but outside — is you look at their continuity. You also study some of the organizations that, the minute things go bad, all they do is change. And then they stand for nothing. And so there’s great accountability here. We don’t run from it. We have very, very hard and honest conversations about each of us, what we need to do better. But also, we have great faith in T-Lue, and he’s proven it. I think he’s, again, one of the best coaches in this league.”
The Clippers still have James Harden (potential 2026 free agent), Kawhi Leonard (2027 free agent) and Ivica Zubac (2028 free agent). Most of the rest of the roster has no ties beyond this season. Frank believes the Clippers can be a “destination franchise as long as Steve (Ballmer) is owning the team,” despite the optics of Paul’s departure.
“I think you own it,” Frank said, when asked about the reputation of a franchise that dismisses a legend seven years after the infamous Griffin trade. “You give context to everything. I don’t think you hide from it. And in making this move, it’s done with great care and concern in the sense that we totally understand what the potential ramifications can be, the franchise player, and it didn’t work out. With that being said, you still have to do what’s right for the team and organization. And we still feel that we have a terrific organization. You know, we’ve had a really, really successful run during the regular season with different iterations of the team. Chris was a large part of it, and then we were able to reach, get into the conference finals on the next iteration of the team, and now we’re on the next iteration of the team.”
