The Los Angeles Clippers sent Chris Paul home early Wednesday morning, parting ways with a future Hall of Famer just 21 games into what was supposed to be the final season of his career. It's unclear yet whether Paul wanted to leave the struggling Clippers, though a post on his Instagram story indicates it wasn't his decision.

NBA fans were furious that a team would treat one of its legends in such a way in the middle of his retirement tour. The truth is the Clippers did Paul a favor.

When the Clippers signed Paul in July, there was nothing but optimism about what they could accomplish this season. They were building a team thought capable of competing for a championship. Paul was the last piece of an offseason haul that included Bradley Beal, John Collins and Brook Lopez. Today, that team is 5-16 and tied for second-to-last place in the Western Conference. The wheels have fallen completely off.

Whether or not Paul wanted to be there, this isn't the situation he signed up for. Nor is it the situation us fans envisioned for his final season. So what exactly is there to be mad about? Paul was averaging 2.9 points on 32 percent shooting, and 3.3 assists while playing 14 minutes per game. He's not part of any solution to turn things around. And up to this point, he was a forgotten man on a bad team.

If that's how Paul wanted to go out, he earned that right under normal circumstances -- but these aren't normal circumstances. He's a visitor on the Clippers now. That's Kawhi Leonard and James Harden's locker room. And with a reputation as a hard-nosed and sometimes ornery competitor, it's hard to imagine Paul wasn't frustrated by how things were going. You can only wonder what transpired behind the scenes for the Clippers to make a decision in the middle of the night to send Paul back to LA while the team is in Atlanta to play the Hawks.

With this release, Paul at least has a chance to finish his career in a better situation... that is if another team comes calling. If not, it was truly a great career. They rarely end the way we hope.

Lane Kiffin is a liar too

In addition to being a deserter, it turns out Lane Kiffin is probably also a giant liar.

In the announcement letter of his decision to leave Ole Miss for the LSU head-coaching job, Kiffin said the players at Ole Miss asked if he could continue coaching through the College Football Playoff in a request that was denied by athletic director Keith Carter. On Tuesday, several players came out on X to refute that claim by Kiffin.

YOU SAID HOW MUCH?! Ole Miss DT hilariously mocked Kiffin's exit

There's more where that came from.

More damning than the actual lie is the fact Kiffin's players didn't want him to stick around. That's the most convincing argument for why he couldn't pull double-duties through the CFP. It seems obvious he wasn't welcomed.

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This article originally appeared on For The Win: The Clippers did Chris Paul a favor with release

Reporting by Prince J. Grimes, For The Win / For The Win

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