Chris Paul says he's 'at peace' in first public comments after messy Clippers exit

On Nov. 22, Chris Paul announced he would be retiring from the NBA after this season, his 21st as a professional. Two weeks later, the Clippers announced they were waiving Paul in a shocking move that Paul learned about in the middle of the night while the team was on a road trip in Atlanta. 

In the week since, we've gotten tons of reports with sourcing on both sides of the situation about what went down, including an alleged rift between Paul and Clippers coach Ty Lue -- who refuted reports that he wasn't on speaking terms with Paul by the end of his second tenure in L.A. The one person we hadn't heard from yet was Paul himself -- aside from his Instagram post at 2:40 a.m. in Atlanta the night he found out he was being sent home. 

That changed on Tuesday when People ran a brief interview with the future Hall of Famer, who wasn't interested in fanning the flames surrounding his sudden departure from the struggling Clippers. 

"I'm actually at peace with everything," Paul said. "More than anything, I'm excited about being around and getting a chance to play a small role in whatever anything looks like next."

Paul is still looking for a more fitting way to end his illustrious career than what happened with the Clippers, but in the meantime he's embracing the rare opportunity to be home for a bit during the season -- including the chance to watch his son play for the first time later this week. 

"I have never seen my son play a game in person," he said. "Not a middle school game, not a high school game. So I'm excited about seeing him play."

Paul planned on having that time at home with the family next year once he is officially retired, but is getting a sneak peek at what that retired life will be like while he searches for a potential final destination on a legendary NBA journey.