Stephon Castle, Spurs players shocked at Clippers’ Chris Paul decision

LAS VEGAS, NV — The LA Clippers made the stunning decision to send Chris Paul home earlier this month during the team’s four-game road trip. After being a productive starter for the San Antonio Spurs last season, the future Hall-of-Famer will not be around the Clippers as they work with him on a new destination.

Paul made an appearance in Las Vegas for the NBA Cup, sitting courtside next to Spurs legend Tony Parker to watch his former San Antonio teammates take on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Spurs won the contest and advanced to the NBA Cup Final, which they subsequently lost against the New York Knicks.

After the semifinal matchup, Chris Paul was seen embracing Victor Wembanyama as well as some of his former Spurs teammates. And it’s safe to say those former teammates were surprised to see how things played out with the LA Clippers.

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“He was a great leader for us last year,” Spurs guard Stephon Castle told ClutchPoints, last season’s Rookie of the Year. “Obviously, he ran the point for us for 82 games. I mean, just being able to pick his brain on anything throughout the season definitely helped me, especially as a rookie.

“I’m super surprised at what happened with him [and the Clippers].”

Paul played sparingly for the LA Clippers this season, averaging just 2.9 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. He did struggle shooting the ball, however, at just 32.1 percent from the field and 33.3 from three.

An heated confrontation with associate head coach Jeff Van Gundy following the Clippers’ home loss to the Dallas Mavericks a month ago was the final straw, with the Clippers informing Paul he’d be sent home in the middle of their four-game road trip.

“Yeah, I was [very surprised],” Harrison Barnes explained to ClutchPoints once the NBA Cup shifted to Las Vegas. “Chris is probably one of my favorite teammates that I’ve had in my career. I think for him to start and play 82 games last year in Year 20. I think his voice and what he gave to our locker room, we’re seeing the benefits of that this year. He was tremendous for us last year.

“Obviously, I wasn’t in that locker room, I don’t know that situation, but I think it’s unfortunate that a player and a guy like him who has given so much to this game, who’s all about about the right things, who’s all about winning at the highest level is in that type of situation.”

Paul started all 82 games for the Spurs last season, averaging 8.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 1.3 steals. He did so while playing 28 minutes a night, shooting 42.7 percent from the field, and 37.7 percent from three.

He clearly made an impact on his younger teammates during his lone season with the San Antonio Spurs.

“I think it’s very unfortunate how it played out,” Keldon Johnson added to ClutchPoints. “Chris was a great vet for not only me, but for our team, and we just hoping that he gets everything situated and everything goes in the right direction.”

Even guard De’Aaron Fox, who was traded to the San Antonio Spurs mid-season in a deal with the Sacramento Kings, said he thankful to be around Chris Paul and learn from him, even in just a short period of time.

“The end, I don’t know what happened to that point, so I don’t really have an opinion about it, nor do I really care,” Fox said regarding the Clippers decision to send Paul home.

“But, CP was great! He was a professional and he was a vet. As soon as I got here, he asked me where do I want the ball, what spots do I like, things of that nature. Things that I think you’ve seen from him through his prime and when he was in New Orleans, when he first got to L.A., those are the things that I kind of expected from him, and being that vet and being the person that everybody called, “Point God.”

“I think he was great for the group last year, especially going through a lot of growing pains. I think everybody was appreciative of what he gave to the organization last year.”

Chris Paul hasn’t officially come out and announced that this will be his final year in the NBA, but he did post a couple videos on social media indicating that he’d played his last game in his home state of North Carolina as well as a clip reminiscing about the Lob City Clippers days.

Over his 21-year career, Paul has played 1,370 regular season games averaging 16.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 9.2 assists, and 2.0 steals per game. He ranks second all time in both assists (12,552) and steals (2,728) behind only John Stockton. He also ranks 41st all-time in total points scored with 23,058 points.

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