Chris Paul’s final days with the Los Angeles Clippers were marked by a sideline moment in their 114–110 loss to the Dallas Mavericks that has since taken on outsized significance.
During a fourth-quarter timeout, Paul told Kawhi Leonard they “might want to switch” off Klay Thompson because Leonard, coming back in after a rest, was struggling to keep pace with Thompson’s movement, according to reporting relayed by Chris Haynes on the Prime Video postgame show. The sequence became a flashpoint when assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy later confronted Paul, telling him he
“might have had leeway in other places to change defensive coverages, but you don’t have that leeway here,”
Haynes: During the Clipper loss to the Mavericks, Chris Paul told Kawhi that he should to switch off Klay because Kawhi was struggling to keep up with him. Jeff Van Gundy told Chris Paul “You might’ve had leeway in other places to change up defensive coverages, but you don’t have… pic.twitter.com/o65UytiAVp
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) December 6, 2025
Haynes detailed that Van Gundy asked Paul on the team plane whether he had changed the defensive assignment; Paul replied he had not, saying he merely suggested that someone else take the Thompson matchup to ensure Leonard was “warmed up” before being put on him again. The interaction, described as part of a pattern of verbal incidents between Paul and the Clippers’ staff, fed into the broader narrative of mounting tensions that preceded the team’s decision to send Paul home and ultimately part ways with him.
