THE WIRELESS INTERNET worked well on the private plane Chris Paul flew from Atlanta to Los Angeles the morning after he was unceremoniously sent home and into an uncertain basketball future. Only a few hours had passed since LA Clippers president Lawrence Frank informed Paul that the organization was parting ways with the best player in franchise history -- just 21 games into what was supposed to be a karmically and narratively pleasing retirement tour. Instead, the season had devolved into disaster, both for the 40-year-old future Hall of Fame point guard and the team. LA was 5-16 and 14th in the Western Conference. Confusion bubbled across the league. What was so bad that the Clippers...