[The Athletic] The Clippers staff and players grew tired and were at their “wit’s end” with Paul’s constant “locker room lawyering”: “Paul’s critiques came off like grating criticisms that were unwelcome while the team was trying to find itself while playing through injury, league sources said.”
Yet as the Clippers continued to struggle, falling to 5-16 during this season in which they fully intended on contending for a title, league sources say the acerbic nature of Paul’s perspective was met with increasing resistance from those around him. Head coach Ty Lue and his staff, specifically, were known to be at wit’s end when it came to dealing with Paul. Some teammates took exception with his disparaging tone.
League sources say Paul had several meetings recently with Clippers officials regarding their concerns with his approach, with one source indicating that there was a request for him to stop with the “locker room lawyering.” League sources said Paul was openly critical of the team in a film session on Tuesday, but — as Frank indicated — the decision to move on from Paul had already been made.
There were chances for Paul to do the same for Clippers teammates, and he would mentor the team’s few young players from time to time. But the Clippers entered the season as the NBA’s oldest team, with an average age per player of 33.2 years. The coaching staff is also a veteran group, with lifers like Lue, and Jeff Van Gundy, and Brian Shaw and Larry Drew, and Paul’s critiques came off like grating criticisms that were unwelcome while the team was trying to find itself while playing through injury, league sources said.