Chris Paul deserved a better ending than this.
The surefire Hall of Fame point guard, dubbed "Point God," has retired from the NBA on Friday after being waived by the Toronto Raptors. And this season didn't go how anyone would've drawn it up.
He rejoined the Los Angeles Clippers in the offseason, a fun reunion with the team he had turned into Lob City.
Paul started every game a season ago for the San Antonio Spurs. No one was under the illusion that he was at his peak, but he seemed to still be a productive NBA player.
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By the start of December, though, the Clippers sent him home. They didn't release him or trade him at that time. They just didn't want him around anymore.
For two months, he waited for news, and just before the trade deadline, he was moved to the Raptors in a salary dump deal. Toronto waived Paul on Friday, and rather than look to latch on elsewhere, he has retired.
It's not quite the same as Willie Mays on the Mets or Michael Jordan on the Wizards, but it's the kind of lame ending that doesn't befit a legend.
Paul will finish his NBA career averaging 16.8 points, 9.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
He's second in NBA history in career assists, with 12,552. He's also second in steals, at 2,728.
In both stats, only John Stockton had more.
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Paul was one of the holdouts as a true point guard as the NBA turned toward scoring guards leading them on the floor.
He could score in a variety of ways, too. It just wasn't his purpose.
Paul set up his teammates, and he did it just about as well as anyone in NBA history.
His ending deserved a better setup than it got, that's for sure.
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