Steve Ballmer expects Clippers to contend despite losing Paul George

Ballmer – who gave reporters a final preview of the team’s new Intuit Dome and the first glimpse of the arena’s double-sided Halo Board on Friday – says he “hated” seeing George leave as a free agent.

INGLEWOOD — Standing inside the Clippers’ new state-of-the-art Intuit Dome, team owner Steve Ballmer could barely contain his excitement Friday afternoon when discussing the details of the fan-centric Halo Board that will loom over the basketball court.

Speaking in decibel levels reserved for jet runways, Ballmer gushed about how the 360-degree, double-sided wraparound 4K LED screen will enable fans to be better engaged with the play on the court.

“I wanted something so that when Kawhi (Leonard) dunks, it’s going to be on my head,” Ballmer said.

The Intuit Dome will open with only half of the four future Hall of Famers Ballmer envisioned playing under the Halo Board in its first year, briefly tempering Ballmer’s enthusiasm.

Unhappy with the offer to extend his contract, Paul George departed for the Philadelphia 76ers earlier this month, while fan favorite Russell Westbrook this week was traded to the Utah Jazz, where he is expected to be waived and sign with the Denver Nuggets. The Clippers still have James Harden and Leonard.

“I love Paul,” Ballmer said. “Let’s start with Paul as a human being. Paul is a great human being and I’ve really enjoyed my opportunity to get to know Paul, Paul’s family. So, on a personal level, I hated it. I hated it from a basketball perspective.

“Paul is a fantastic player, a future Hall of Famer, I would say. But we knew we needed to continue to get better.”

Ballmer said that given the restraints of the new collective bargaining agreement and his desire win a championship, the Clippers offered George what he considered a “great offer.” George wanted a four-year deal and when the Clippers offered three years, he bolted, signing a four-year, $212 million max-level deal with the 76ers.

George said on his “Podcast P with Paul George” that the Clippers started negotiations with a low offer before gradually increasing their offer in contract talks during the season. He said he would have taken the same three-year, $150 million extension that Leonard signed in January. But when George said the Clippers offered him the same deal this summer once he became a free agent, he wanted a no-trade clause attached since the team wasn’t willing to offer the max. The Clippers were not willing to provide a no-trade clause.

Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations, on Monday told reporters that the Clippers would not have been able to add or keep the help needed for a championship-contending roster had they given George a bigger deal due to the new CBA and how restrictive it is for tax-paying teams.

“He wanted to go, and I respect him for that,” Ballmer said of George. “I mean, basketball players don’t have that many years in their lives to really make money, et cetera. I wish he was here and I wish him well. We got a lot of great players we added that we wouldn’t have been able to add otherwise. So I’m happy about that too.”

The Clippers finished fourth in the Western Conference last season before losing to the Dallas Mavericks in a first-round playoff series, and Ballmer made it clear he believes the retooled roster surrounding Leonard and Harden can contend as the Clippers enter their new palace this season.

“I think we’re going to be a very, very good team,” Ballmer said. “We’re going to contend, we’ll see how far it takes us.”

Ballmer said other teams will soon have to make the kind of tough decisions the Clippers had to make with George due to the restrictive CBA.

“People are going to be very thoughtful about how they continue build their rosters to win,” Ballmer said. “I think people are going to be over the second apron, but when you’re over the second apron, you better feel like you got a clear shot [to win]. You stay up there two years, you better really feel like you got a clear shot. That was kind of what the Players Association and the league was intending to do. Trying to level out the level of competitiveness.

“Guys like me, who’ve been very willing to pay the luxury tax, it’s not about the luxury tax anymore. It’s about the penalties in terms of how you get better. I’m not willing to sacrifice getting better. Still willing to pay the money. But it’s more than money now.”

Ballmer preferred to focus more on the Halo Board, which is 38,375 square feet (equal to more than 3,500 60-inch televisions) of high-tech graphics, statistics, player profiles, an eye-catching storm video and t-shirt cannons. In addition, there will be six modes that will be shown throughout a game, including a player box (with pertinent facts about each player), a coach’s corner and a “Steve Cam.”

“My wife is going to hate it,” Ballmer joked.

Ballmer, whose dream to build the team’s own arena began six months after he bought the Clippers, said the screen will enable fans to not only watch a game but better enjoy the experience. So, designers aimed to create a board that not only entertains fans but educates them as well.

“I want fans to be educated, to be entertained, to be enthusiastic, to support our team and it’s just another look,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s about players first, the fans second and we’re just trying to do everything we can to enhance our product and our product is our team and then the experience the fans get.”

Ballmer said while the Halo Board provides plenty of real estate, the dilemma was how best to use it.

“I wanted to have the right software so no matter where you are sitting, you can see what you want to see, see what you need to see,” Ballmer said, “… make it come alive.”

Wow pic.twitter.com/iqhGxVK0Vh

— janis carr (@janiscarr) July 19, 2024

Getting the details… pic.twitter.com/b6XiBXKyz4

— janis carr (@janiscarr) July 19, 2024

In action pic.twitter.com/46Okr2wJjb

— janis carr (@janiscarr) July 19, 2024

Another feature… pic.twitter.com/4fJd3lbtLa

— janis carr (@janiscarr) July 19, 2024

Make Waves. pic.twitter.com/CAOkD2n8em

— janis carr (@janiscarr) July 19, 2024

Intuit Done before the big reveal pic.twitter.com/oiyVAkYodV

— janis carr (@janiscarr) July 19, 2024