Clippers owner Steve Ballmer wasn’t thrilled to lose Paul George to the Sixers this offseason, but he was emphatic in his belief in the retooled roster when speaking to reporters on Friday, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk writes.
“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’s family. So on a personal level, I hated it. I hated it.
“From a basketball perspective, Paul is a fantastic player, future Hall of Famer. But we knew we needed to continue to get better. And with the new CBA, what tools, what flexibility [can be restricted], we made Paul what I consider a great offer. But it was a great offer in terms of us thinking about how to win championships. It wasn’t what Paul wanted.”
George’s interest in a deal that matched or exceeded the three-year, $150MM deal Kawhi Leonard received has been well-covered. The Clippers declined to include a fourth year in any contract offer for George and opted not to give him the no-trade clause he sought on a three-year deal. George wound up accepting a four-year maximum-salary contract with Philadelphia.
After losing George, the Clippers turned their attention to replenishing their depth. The team re-signed James Harden before adding role players like Nicolas Batum, Derrick Jones Jr., and Kris Dunn, among others.
“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. There’s a lot of good teams in the West, let alone you’ve got the Celtics, etc. in the East. But there’s a lot of good teams. I think we are one of them, and if we stay healthy, if we play well, I think every team’s got to get a little bit of luck.
“Our two guys at the top are pretty good, and I’ll take our guys that we flank around them. Just take a look at Dallas. They rode the backs of two great players and a bunch of other very, very good players, and we certainly have that.”
Ballmer believes that sooner or later every team will be faced with a decision like the one the Clippers had to make in their negotiations with George.
“Guys like me who’ve been very willing to pay the luxury tax — it’s not about the luxury tax anymore,” Ballmer said. “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.“
The LAC position would have made sense if they hadn’t pursued Harden as they did last year, and then reupped him this year for what could be 2 years. More flexibility than the last couple of years? Sure, but still not much for a draft pick depleted team with aging stars.
Exactly, Harden is purely a curse on every team he plays on. The guy plays a style that will never chip in this league. Might get you a lot of reg season wins and counting stats, but many first round exits when it matters. Clippers should have never touched Harden with a 10 foot pole and now are paying the price.
Will never understand why people say PG will be HOF, what did he do, except constantly changing teams and being injured, to deserve to be HoF.
T-Mac and Vince Carter are in and they don’t have the accolades that Paul George does. He’s a 9x All-Star, 6x All-NBA, and 4x All-Defense an Olympic Gold and a top-5 MVP finish.
Sorry but playing on 3 teams over a 14 year career is hardly “constantly changing teams”, this is a super cringeworthy comment you made here.
PG13 is a 9x All-Star, 6x all-NBA, 4x all-defensive.
You don’t know ball, like at all. Watch more games and stop talking about the game until you know it better. What a cringe comment. PG13 isnt first ballot but he’s a HOFer for sure.
6x All-NBA. He’ll be first ballot. Clown comment, bro.
George was traded twice. This is the first time he’s signed with a new team of his own accord, and only did so because the clippers were unwilling to pay him market value.
I am glad they didn’t take the offer for Paul George from GSW. Both teams did better by losing payroll.
Grizzlies and Kings are top 6 seeds
7th seed Pelicans add Murray
8th seed Suns
Then you have
Warriors
Lakers
Clippers
Since you are always wrong on most things I will not take what you post as any more than a guess.
The back up center position is concerning.
There’s nothing wrong with Mo Bamba as a backup, he’ll block some shots and stretch the floor a bit.
This Clippers team ain’t contending…
Kawhi doesn’t have the knees to carry Harden by himself…