NBA veteran guard Chris Paul was filmed playing basketball with Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts at the Los Angeles Clippers‘ practice facility in a video posted to Instagram on Tuesday.
Chris Paul Trains With Mookie Betts
Paul and Betts have been great friends for years, hanging out off the court at sporting events and community get-togethers. The two appeared to play some one-on-one in the video.
Their hoops practice came about a month after the Clippers sent Paul home to Los Angeles from Atlanta, where the team was preparing to face the Hawks in a Dec. 3 matchup.
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“We are parting ways with Chris and he will no longer be with the team. We will work with him on the next step of his career,” Frank said in the statement.
“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.”
Paul remains under contract with the Clippers, but the future Hall of Famer is now eligible to be traded.
Paul Questioned Clippers’ Culture
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne unveiled new details on Dec. 16 in a tell-all report about the fractured relationship between the franchise and the 12-time All-Star.
Per Shelburne, Paul first “raised concerns about the team’s culture” to Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank during a discussion the morning after a Nov. 6 loss to the Phoenix Suns.
One of the issues that Paul addressed in that meeting was a “lack of conversation in the group text chat and the lack of time the players spent together off the court,” according to Shelburne.
Shelburne noted Frank responded to Paul’s criticism, stating that his “style wasn’t in line with what they needed it to be—that his leadership was being perceived as subversive rather than helpful.”
According to Shelburne, that same day also marked the last “substantive conversation” between Paul and head coach Ty Lue before the Clippers sent him home on Dec. 2.
Paul signed a one-year, $3.6 million contract with the Clippers ahead of his 21st NBA season. He also announced during the offseason that this campaign would be his final season.
The 2026 NBA trade deadline is Feb. 5.
