Clippers' Chris Paul decision could lead to a problem that Wolves fans know well

The Los Angeles Clippers sent shock waves through the NBA world when they waived franchise legend Chris Paul in the wee hours of the morning. Paul returned to LA this summer for his farewell season. He previously spent six years with the Clippers in the 2010s and, by all accounts, is the franchise's best player of all-time.

Despite having high aspirations (pun intended) for this season, the Clippers are off to an abysmal 5-16 start. According to Shams Charania, the Clippers felt like CP3 trying to hold the team accountable became disruptive. Chris Haynes added that Paul tried to have a meeting with Tyronn Lue about the allegations of being a negative presence on the team, but he refused.

This is simply embarrassing stuff for a Clippers team with a dismal history. When you're 5-16, you need some leadership and accountability; even if he's no longer an elite player, Paul can provide that. Instead, the Clippers decided to end their relationship with CP3 on a petty note.

So how in the world does this relate to the Minnesota Timberwolves? Admittedly, it's not a perfect comparison. However, it's worth noting that the Timberwolves' ownership ruined their relationship with their best player in franchise history, Kevin Garnett. The Big Ticket still doesn't have his iconic No. 21 retired despite being out of the league for a decade. Now, the Clippers could be in a similar spot with CP3.

Chris Paul could go down a similar road to Kevin Garnett

Notably, similar to Paul, Garnett returned to Minnesota for his final season.

Garnett's jersey hasn't been retired due to a beef with owner Glen Taylor. KG was hoping to move into a role with the organization after he retired. However, after Flip Saunders passed away (in Garnett's final season), Taylor didn't grant KG his wish, which (understandably) outraged him. Since then, he refused to have his number retired. Taylor failing to build a competent roster around him during his 14-year tenure certainly didn't help matters.

While it's widely believed that Garnett will finally get his number retired with the Wolves, now that Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez have taken over as owners, it still hasn't happened yet. And let's be honest, it feels weird that Garnett doesn't have his jersey retired yet. He already has it retired with his other team, the Boston Celtics.

The Wolves' lone retired jersey is No. 2 for Malik Sealy, who tragically passed away.

Despite a 55-year history, including a 41-year history in LA, the Clippers have ZERO retired jerseys. Especially after Paul returned to LA this summer, it seemed likely that this would change. Now it seems uncertain. At the very least, it's fair to expect it will take a while for this relationship to heal.

Paul doesn't seem like a guy who will forgive easily and understandably so.

Maybe the Clippers will retire Blake Griffin's jersey, but he's been out of the league for two years. Furthermore, Griffin's time in LA ended with a trade after they promised to keep him; they even made a shirt with Griffin and a variety of world icons, including Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela, with the word "pioneers" on them to persuade him to stay during the previous offseason.

Yes that's a real tweet, and shirt.

Would they retire Kawhi Leonard's jersey after an underwhelming era and a massive scandal? That actually seems pretty on brand for this organization.

Ultimately, though, Chris Paul is the best player in franchise history, and it's a shame the Clippers ended their relationship in this manner. It's not far-fetched at all to suggest that this decision would lead to a similar situation to the Garnett-Wolves rift.