The last 10 days for the Los Angeles Clippers have been tumultuous, to say the least. Last Wednesday, the NBA dropped the hammer on them for salary cap circumvention involving Kawhi Leonard, which resulted in the league taking away five future first-round picks and suspending several key personnel, including owner Steve Ballmer and President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank. And if you didn’t think there was enough drama going on in Clipperland, tensions involving arguably the franchise’s
greatest player and one of the most influential figures in recent Phoenix Suns history continue to brew.
After returning to the franchise he helped lead to a franchise-best 57-win season and earning numerous All-Star and All-NBA selections for the final season of his career, Chris Paul was sent home by the Clippers in the middle of the night less than two months into the season. The move was an attempt by the team to shake up the locker room amid a poor start to the season, and it ultimately ended his career prematurely.
Now, more than nine months after his release, as if the Clippers hadn’t done enough damage to their relationship with potentially the most iconic player in franchise history, it seems there’s a new wrinkle, and it involves another former Phoenix Sun.
With Paul retired and no longer on the Clippers, Bradley Beal is switching his number from zero to three, according to NBA numerologist Etienne Catalan and the Clippers’ team website. Paul wore No. 3 for the entirety of his career, and it was the number he was told the organization would retire.
Coincidentally, Beal took Paul’s No. 3 when he was traded for him after the Suns acquired Beal from the Wizards. But even though Paul helped break a decade-plus playoff drought and led the team to its first Finals in nearly 30 years, he played just three seasons in Phoenix, compared with seven for the Clippers, and there have been no reports from Paul or the team about plans to retire his jersey.
Beal taking Paul’s number in Phoenix didn’t ruffle any feathers, but Paul’s history with the Clippers runs much deeper, and people are disappointed with how the franchise is acknowledging it, or lack thereof.
With all the backlash directed at the Clippers, Beal stepped in and appeared to defend his former Clippers teammate with a recent post on Twitter, singing his praises and saying that Paul’s legacy is intact.
Things continue to get messy for the Clippers, and the latest story involves two former members of the Phoenix Suns.
