The Los Angeles Clippers sent Chris Paul home more than a month ago.
Except the legendary point guard is still on the Clippers' roster. He hasn't actually been traded or released yet.
So what gives?
Well, it was always going to be a bit complicated.
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Why is Chris Paul still on the Clippers' roster?
While it was highly publicized that Paul had been dismissed by the Clippers, it was also true at the time that there hadn't actually been a transaction made.
This was a practical move at first. CP3 was sent away from the team. He wasn't actually gotten rid of contractually.
The main initial reason was that for a newly signed player to be traded, it had to be Dec. 15, and it wasn't yet. Since Paul signed back to L.A. In the offseason he needed at least that Dec. 15 date to be sent to a new team.
The Clippers would've preferred to find a trade, just to extract a tiny bit of value out of moving Paul and his contract.
Now that it drags on, though, it's not quite clear. Does Paul not want to keep playing? Does no one want him? Are teams waiting until closer to the trade deadline to see if they need a point guard or not?
The Clippers could choose to waive Paul at some point, too, but there's no great reason for them to do that, either.
Right now, everyone is in a holding pattern.
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