The Clippers Continue To Disrespect Chris Paul After Allowing Bradley Beal To Wear #3 Immediately After Promising Paul They Would Retire His Number

David Jensen. Getty Images.

Just when you thought the Clippers couldn't embarrass themselves anymore after everything that happened with Kawhi Leonard, they still seem to find a way. For nearly my entire life, the Clippers have been considered and talked about as a joke franchise, and honestly it's hard to argue against. This isn't just a little brother syndrome thing in their battle with the Lakers either. They're legitimately showing exactly why most people consider them a bottom tier franchise from top to bottom. How they handle their legends, the blown 3-1 leads, the actions of both the previous owner and the current one, it's all bad.

Their latest decision? If it wasn't bad enough how they disrespected the greatest player in their franchise's history last year when they sent Chris Paul home at 3am and tried to blame him for everything that went into their slow start to the season, they've now decided to take that up a notch

If you weren't aware, no Clipper other than Chris Paul has worn #3 since 2011. Even when Paul was traded from the Clippers to the Rockets in 2017-18, nobody wore it in any of the following seasons. When Paul returned last year, that was the exact reason why Bradley Beal wore #0 instead. They don't call him CP3 for nothing, ya know? And while you may be thinking who cares this is just a number, wrong.

And Bradley Beal can try all the spinzone he wants

the fact of the matter is, the Clippers are showing you the blueprint on how NOT to treat the greatest player in franchise history. The way they sent him home was messed up enough, but to then also blatantly lie that they were going to retire his number only to have another player wear that same number the very next season? Is it possible that the Clippers aren't aware of what it means to retire a number? And why would they hold out from 2012-26 if they were OK with other players wearing it? But now they beef with Paul last year and decide to do this? That's gross. That's what loser franchises do. Remember, this is the same franchise that also begged Blake Griffin to stay, he did, and then they immediately traded him to the Pistons in Year 1 of his extension. 

I know it can sound a little hyperbolic, but this really might be the worst franchise in all of NBA history. I'm not even a Clippers fan and I'm offended. How do you ruin your franchise legend's retirement tour and then also give away his number after promising him it was going to be retired? Is there NO ONE in that front office that has any sense of awareness and PR? How do they think this makes them look to potential free agents? Their future is already cooked because they cheated, and THIS is how they treat Chris Paul? Hell, you could argue the ONLY successful era of that entire franchise was Lob City, and guess who was a major part of that!

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If I'm Paul, I think you have no choice but to put your foot down and tell the Clippers they can go to hell when it comes to this fugazi jersey retirement. At some point the disrespect reaches a level where they shouldn't get the privilege of celebrating you. Let him get his number retired in NO/OKC or something instead. 

All I know is the Basketball Gods are always watching. It doesn't exactly feel like a coincidence that following the Blake Griffin situation and then the Chris Paul ordeal that all of a sudden they had the Kawhi scandal and punishment. That was clearly the Basketball Gods doing their thing, and now with this latest move from the Clippers there's no chance things get better for them any time soon. Good thing they just opened that new arena! Good job Steve Ballmer you bozo.