Veteran point guard Chris Paul remains stuck in a state of limbo after being sent home by the Los Angeles Clippers in December, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
Shelbune reported Monday that “there has been no substantial movement toward finding him a new home,” though the Clippers are still prepared to facilitate a trade.
Los Angeles could simply waive Paul, allowing both parties to make a clean, straightforward break. Granted, if it were that easy, the team probably would’ve done it by now.
Eating Paul’s salary is not nothing to a team that’s only $1.1 million away from the first apron of the luxury tax, and the Clippers’ limited flexibility makes it difficult to fill any open spots on the roster.
The market might ultimately force L.A.’s hand, though.
Should Paul remain on the team through Thursday’s trade deadline, the Clippers are left with three options. They can welcome the 12-time All-Star back into the fold. They can leave him in exile for the rest of the season. Or they can arrange a buyout.
Only one of those three looks realistic.
It’s not surprising to see other teams are generally tepid about a move for the 40-year-old. Through 16 games in his Clippers reunion, he was averaging 2.9 points on 32.1 percent shooting along with 3.3 assists in 14.3 minutes per contest.
And while there doesn’t appear to have been an inciting incident, the expediency with which Los Angeles was ready to wash its hands of the future Hall of Famer raised some questions.
Paul will presumably get a chance to end his NBA career in a more dignifying manner. The question is how much longer he’ll have to wait for his next shot.
