Chris Paul's return to the Los Angeles Clippers has ended earlier than expected.

Paul posted to social media early on Wednesday morning that the Clippers sent him home from their road trip, effectively ending his second stint with the team.

"Just Found Out I'm Being Sent Home," Paul posted with a peace sign emoji.

The Clippers later confirmed they are moving on from the future Hall of Famer, with top basketball executive Lawrence Frank suggesting they'll try to trade him.

"We are parting ways with Chris, and he will no longer be a part of the team," Frank said. "We will work with him on the next step of his career.

"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."

 

BREAKING: Clippers have informed Chris Paul that he is being sent home, per @ChrisBHaynes

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— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 3, 2025

Paul returned to the Clippers in July for his 21st, and likely final, NBA season. The hope was the 40-year-old would join a veteran lineup featuring superstars James Harden and Kawhi Leonard and help the franchise win their elusive first NBA championship, but the Clippers have stumbled out of the gate to a 5-16 record and are only ahead of the 3-19 New Orleans Pelicans in the Western Conference.

The Clippers are in Atlanta to play the Hawks on Wednesday after opening a five-game trip with Monday's 140-123 loss to the Miami Heat - their fifth straight defeat.

As Frank mentioned in his statement that Paul isn't being blamed for the team's poor play, and it would be hard for him to be responsible for the disappointing start given how little he has played.

In 16 games off the bench, he is averaging career lows of 2.9 points, 3.3 assists and 1.8 rebounds in just over 14 minutes, and didn't play in five games despite dressing.

A 12-time All-Star, Paul was coming off an impactful season for the San Antonio Spurs in 2024-25, when he averaged 8.8 points, 7.4 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 82 games to become the first player in NBA history to play 82 games in his 20th season or later.

Paul played for the Clippers from 2011-12 through 2016-17, earning five All-Star selections while helping the franchise reach the play-offs in all six of those seasons with three trips to the Western Conference semi-finals.

He has career averages of 16.8 points, 9.2 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.99 steals while shooting 46.9 per cent from the field and 37.0 per cent from three-point range. He is an 11-time All-NBA selection and a seven-time selection to the NBA All-Defensive first team.

Paul, who has also played for the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors and Charlotte Hornets, ranks second in NBA history in both career assists (12,552) and steals (2,728), trailing only Hall of Famer John Stockton (15,806 assists, 3,265 steals) in each category.