Clippers Seemingly Renege on Chris Paul Jersey Retirement

The disrespect the Clippers have shown future Hall-of-Famer Chris Paul is actually getting out of hand.

Before sending him home and not letting him see out the entire season with the Clippers – which was a huge act of disrespect in itself – Paul said Lawrence Frank told him his jersey would be retired by LAC.

“[Lawrence Frank] said that [Clippers will retire #3 jersey] to me before he sent me home,” Paul revealed on the 7 PM in Brooklyn podcast.

Now, it seems Paul’s number has been given to another former Suns player in Bradley Beal.

Beal’s new jersey number is available on the team’s website store and league sources told ESPN that Beal plans to wear No. 3.

Beal himself also seemed to address the situation in a social media post:

“He’s a legend,” Beal wrote. “The HISTORY and BRAND can’t be touched, nor erased!!!”

Paul is the Clippers’ career leader in assists and led the franchise to the playoffs in six straight seasons.

It really is a terrible time to be a Clippers fan, as SB Nation’s Julian Apolinario points out, “With the Clippers facing down the barrel of a potentially long period of uncompetitiveness, retiring Paul’s jersey would be an easy win for the upcoming year in which wins might be few and far betwee, giving the fans something to rally around. But instead, the Clippers seem hell-bent on continuing to burn bridges rather than build them up, in a period of time where they seem to need support the most.”

Paul has been candid about the way the Clippers treated him in his twilight years, after they basically forced him into a premature retirement.

In an interview last week, CP3 said it was “probably one of the most disrespectful things I’ve endured.”