Chris Paul's return stint with the Clippers is over, and the team's rough start just got rougher

Chris Paul's return stint with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to an abrupt and stunning end, the franchise parting ways with one of its greatest players in a late-night meeting that will add another layer of drama to the team's terrible start this season.

The news was delivered in a meeting in Atlanta that ended around 2 a.m. Wednesday, Clippers basketball operations president Lawrence Frank said. Frank said he made the decision to sever ties with Paul on Sunday, then told the franchise's career assist leader that he needed to see him on Tuesday in Atlanta.

Frank did not confirm speculation that Paul and Clippers coach Tyronn Lue have been clashing or not speaking to one another, insisting the decision had multiple layers. Frank also insisted that Lue is safe, despite the Clippers' dismal start to this season. They improved to 6-16 with a win over the Hawks on Wednesday.

“This decision had nothing to do with one incident, one meeting that did or did not happen," Frank said in a video conference with reporters. "Some of our business, respectfully, I have to keep in house. But this didn’t come down to one incident or one meeting. It just wasn’t the right fit.”

Paul made the announcement on social media shortly before 3 a.m. Wednesday, posting "Just Found Out I'm Being Sent Home” and adding a peace emoji.

Clippers star James Harden said he learned of the news when he woke up Wednesday. His reaction: “definitely surprised,” he said.

“Not just Chris, it’s a lot that we’re dealing with,” Harden said. “So, that right there is out of my hands.”

Los Angeles lost at Miami on Monday night to extend its wildly disappointing start to the season. The Clippers' flight to Atlanta from Miami on Tuesday was delayed for about 4 1/2 hours, according to flight records, which led to the late-night session between Frank and Paul. The team didn't land in Atlanta until shortly before 10 p.m., and Frank had told Paul he would be waiting to meet.

“Because of the nature of the conversation it was a long, long, long, long, long, long meeting,” Frank said.

The 40-year-old Paul is playing his 21st NBA season, and he strongly hinted last month that it will be his last. The 12-time All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist has earned four All-NBA first team selections, and he ranks second in NBA history with 12,552 assists. He was the first player to score at least 20,000 points while recording at least 10,000 assists; LeBron James and Russell Westbrook have both since done that as well.

“I don’t think it will necessarily help our team,” Lue said before the game in Atlanta. "I don’t think the reason why we’re 5-16 is because of CP. I just think that it wasn’t a good fit for what he was looking for.

“Do I want to see people go out like this? No, I have a lot of respect for him,” Lue added. “He’s been a friend of mine over the years, and you don’t want to see a great go out like this. But I’m pretty sure he will find something, because he’s a great player.”

Paul became arguably the most accomplished player in Clippers franchise history while leading the team to six winning seasons from 2011-17, including the Clippers' first two Pacific Division titles and three playoff series victories. Paul returned to Los Angeles as a free agent last July, rejoining a franchise where he is loved by fans while having an outside chance to contend for his first championship alongside Harden and Kawhi Leonard.

It didn't happen.

“We did not make this move because of our underperformance," Frank said. "He had nothing to do with that. I take full responsibility for our record. We are not scapegoating Chris Paul. We have many issues, and we’re going to address each issue for our underperformance. But I do want to make it clear: We have great respect for Chris, for the career that he’s had and for his impact on the organization, what he did to help transform the franchise, and we’re not blaming him for underperformance.”

The Clippers will likely try to trade Paul, who signed a $3.6 million deal to return to LA. A trade cannot happen until Dec. 15 by league rules.

Paul hasn’t spoken to reporters since he strongly hinted at retirement while the Clippers were back in his native North Carolina. But he acknowledged a video retrospective of his career played by the Clippers during a timeout at Intuit Dome last week. The video ended with “Congratulations, Point God” on the screen.

Paul couldn't really be blamed for the Clippers' profound struggles this season because he hasn't played much.

He is averaging 2.6 points and 3.3 assists while playing just 14.3 minutes per game — all career lows — and he didn't play at all in five straight games in mid-November. Paul had eight points and three assists while playing 15 minutes against the Heat in what turned out to be his final game with the team — a game in which Harden and other starters were effectively benched, in the latest sign of discord for Lue's team.

“T Lue's a hell of a coach," Frank said. "He’s going to continue to be the coach here for a long time.”

The Clippers snapped a five-game slide Wednesday. Leonard has been limited to 11 games by injuries, and they've already lost guard Bradley Beal to season-ending hip surgery.

The Clippers’ streak of 14 consecutive winning seasons is the longest active streak in the NBA, but owner Steve Ballmer’s club has yet to show signs of contention this season — and now they're going forward without a historically talented point guard and franchise favorite.

“Chris’ legacy with us stands," Frank said. "This situation just didn’t work out at this time.”

Associated Press freelance writer Bill Trocchi in Atlanta contributed to this report.

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Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, left, talks with Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul, right, after their NBA basketball game Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul warms up before the team's NBA Cup basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) controls the ball under pressure from Dallas Mavericks forward Caleb Martin during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks largely held in place as Wall Street waits to hear what the Federal Reserve will say Wednesday about where interest rates are heading. The S&P 500 edged down by 0.1% Tuesday, though it remains near its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.1%. JPMorgan Chase was the heaviest weight on the market after a top executive said the bank’s expenses could rise about 9% next year. Treasury yields climbed following an update on U.S. job openings. The report could persuade the Fed that the economy doesn’t need much more help from lower interest rates.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting on Tuesday as Wall Street waits to hear what the Federal Reserve will say on Wednesday about where interest rates are heading.

The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged and remained near its all-time high, which was set in October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 124 points, or 0.3%, with less than an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher.

Exxon Mobil was one of the strongest forces pushing upward on the market. It climbed 2.3% after increasing its forecast for profit over the next five years, thanks in part to strength for its fields in the Permian basin in the United States and off Guyana’s shore.

But JPMorgan Chase dragged on the market after a top executive, Marianne Lake, said expenses for the bank could hit $105 billion next year. That would be up 9% from an estimated $95.9 billion this year, though Lake also said JPMorgan Chase is “feeling pretty good about the underlying financial health of the borrowers in our portfolio.” Its stock fell 3.9%.

Another drop came from Toll Brothers, which fell 1.2% after the homebuilder reported weaker results for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

CEO Douglas Yearley Jr. said demand for new homes remains soft across many markets. But he pointed to how his company’s luxury homes aim more at affluent customers, who may be less hurt by “affordability pressures” than other potential homebuyers.

One big factor in that affordability question is mortgage rates. They’re cheaper than they were at the start of the year, though they perked up a bit after October. That’s largely because of questions in the bond market about how much more the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate.

The widespread expectation is that the Fed will cut interest rates Wednesday afternoon, which would be the third such easing of the year. Lower interest rates can give the economy and prices for investments a boost, but the downside is they can worsen inflation.

The U.S. stock market has run to the edge of its records in part because of the near assumption that the Fed will cut rates again on Wednesday.

The big question is what the Fed will say about where interest rates will go after that. Many on Wall Street are bracing for talk aimed at tamping down expectations for more cuts in 2026.

Inflation has stubbornly remained above the Fed’s 2% target, and Fed officials are notably split in their opinions about whether high inflation or the slowing job market is the bigger threat to the economy.

Treasury yields climbed in the bond market after a report on Tuesday showed that U.S. employers were advertising 7.7 million job openings at the end of October. That's up a smidgen from the month before and the highest since May.

If the job market is not worsening, it may not need as much help from the Fed through more cuts to rates.

After the report on job openings came out, the yield on the 10-year Treasury erased what had been an earlier dip. It rose to 4.18% from 4.17% late Monday.

The yield on the two-year Treasury, which moves more closely with expectations for what the Fed will do, rose to 3.60% from 3.57% late Monday.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, Ares Management climbed 8.9% after S&P Dow Jones Indices said the investment company will join its widely followed S&P 500 index. It will replace Kellanova, the maker of Pringles and Pop-Tarts, which is being bought by Mars, the company behind Snickers and M&Ms.

CVS Health rose 3.1% after unveiling new financial forecasts, including expectations for annual compounded growth in earnings per share at a “mid-teens” percentage over the next three years.

“We are committed to doing what we say,” said Chief Financial Officer Brian Newman, who also said CVS Health is closing out 2025 with strong momentum.

Home Depot fell 0.9% after flipping earlier between gains and losses. It gave a preliminary forecast for 2026 that said the broad home improvement market may shrink by up to 1%. But it also gave a separate set of forecasts saying its earnings per share could grow in the mid- to high-single digit percentages if the housing market recovers.

The market’s most influential stock, Nvidia, slipped 0.7% after President Donald Trump allowed it to sell an advanced chip used in artificial-intelligence technology to “approved customers” in China. The H200 is not Nvidia’s top product.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed Europe and Asia.

Indexes fell 1.3% in Hong Kong and 0.7% in Paris for two of the world’s bigger moves.

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei and New York Dow indexes at a securities firm Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board at a securities firm Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)