ESPN story on what happened between Chris Paul and the Clippers

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At media day, Paul was put forth as a credible voice as the franchise dealt with the fallout from a salary-cap-circumvention investigation. It was precisely the type of role it seemed he'd been brought back to play.

But once Paul began playing it, the Clippers seemed to recoil. When he offered suggestions to a player about training methods, he was warned not to undermine the staff, sources said. When he'd challenge players on or off the court, or tell them how to run a play, there were complaints from players and coaches that he was abrasive.

"That's how Chris is," one executive with another team said. "He wears you out. He's convinced he's right -- and he often is right, which kind of pisses you off -- and he'll go around to everyone until you agree with him."

All this became even more pronounced in training camp, as Paul quickly became a standout as the leader of the second unit, which was routinely beating the starters.

"We were kicking their arse," forward John Collins recently told ESPN. "Every day, we were kicking [the starters'] arse."

Paul played 19 minutes a game during the preseason, averaging 8.3 points and 5.3 assists. It was a much heartier role than had been discussed in the summer.

"I think that's where Ty went wrong," said one source close to the situation, "because that really empowered Chris and changed the expectations."

Lue liked Paul's competitive spirit, and he played well in the time he was given. And the team needed him with Leonard, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Bradley Beal nursing injuries coming into the season.

It was then, multiple sources said, that the schism began to develop.

"If all they wanted was a cheerleader," the executive said, "why did they sign Chris Paul? I mean, they had him before. They knew what he was like."

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AFTER THE TEAM was blown out in its season opener against the Utah Jazz, sources said Paul attempted to get players to talk about the loss as they came into the locker room.

It was the kind of thing Paul would routinely do on other teams. But the Clippers' locker room, full of veteran players and coaches, is not particularly active, even after wins, sources said. So Paul's attempt to encourage dialogue fell flat.

A few nights later, after a win over New Orleans, Paul and his wife hosted a Halloween party for players and staffers in a club at the Intuit Dome. It was meant as a culture-building exercise, and afterward Frank and others commended Paul for doing it, despite only a handful of players attending, sources said.

Then the Clippers didn't win a game for almost two weeks.

Three of those losses (two against the Phoenix Suns, one against the Oklahoma City Thunder) came against teams Paul had recently played for, and at one point, sources said, he asked a member of the coaching staff why he hadn't been consulted on how those teams -- and particularly their star players, Devin Booker and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander -- operate.

The question, or perhaps its delivery, was not thought to be constructive, sources said.

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The next morning, Paul went to the facility early to get in a workout.

The first person he encountered was Frank, and the two agreed to talk. During the meeting, sources said Paul raised concerns about the team's culture -- noting the lack of conversation in the group text chat and the lack of time the players spent together off the court.

Frank, for his part, stressed that Paul's style wasn't in line with what they needed it to be -- that his leadership was being perceived as subversive rather than helpful.

Later that day, Paul and Lue talked on the phone for 40 minutes. It was their final substantive conversation before Paul was sent home nearly a month later, on Dec. 2. (Every other interaction was short or via text, sources said).

The call began with Paul asking Lue why he'd been benched for the second half of the Clippers' game the night before, a game in which the Clippers led by three points at the half only to lose by 13.

Paul suggested having a meeting among team leaders and holding more practices on off days.

Lue told Paul he was coming across as too critical of players and coaches and needed to understand -- and own up to that.

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The Clippers wanted to honor him with a tribute video, but Paul told them it was the wrong message to highlight in the middle of a losing streak. So on Nov. 28, before what would prove to be the third to last game of his time with the Clippers, the team released a video.

The caption said Paul would "end his Hall of Fame career at home."

It took less than four days for that to prove false.

On Nov. 30, tensions between Paul and Van Gundy came to a head on the team's flight to Miami.

Van Gundy had been upset the night before that Paul had openly questioned how the coaching staff had used Leonard's limited minutes toward the end of the team's loss to the Dallas Mavericks, their seventh in eight games. Leonard was coming off a minutes restriction and was defending a red-hot Klay Thompson, known for his movement without the ball. That took a lot of energy, Paul had argued.

Van Gundy accused Paul of changing the coverage without approval.

Paul responded that he had only "suggested" switching Leonard's defensive assignment because he had bumped up against his minutes restriction.

To prove his point, Paul stood up and walked down the aisle of the plane to Leonard and Kris Dunn and asked them whether he had suggested a change or actually changed the coverage, multiple sources who witnessed the interaction said.

Both players affirmed that he had suggested it, sources said. The interaction was brought up again to other players on the team during the flight, and sources said that subsequently got back to the coaching staff and front office.

That night, the team decided it had finally had enough.

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But mostly the biggest difference after Paul was sent home is how much quieter things are.

"He's intense, man," Collins said. "He's a leader. Somebody that wants the best for everybody. Somebody that wanted greatness, and that's what he demands.

"It's definitely a lot quieter without him here."

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