Clippers owner Steve Ballmer took losing Paul George in free agency hard: ‘I hated it’

The Los Angeles Clippers showed off their new home arena, the Intuit Dome, to the media on Friday. One of the standout features is the “Halo Board,” a massive, double-sided, wraparound 4K video board.

“When I think about what fans will think about when they drive home, it’s probably the size, shape and capabilities of this board,” said Gillian Zucker, president of business operations for the Clippers (via the Los Angeles Times).

The sign may also feature a “Steve Ballmer cam,” which shows the team’s exuberant owner clapping, cheering and pumping his fists during the action. It’s possible that the tokenization of the “Steve Cam” was a joke at Ballmer’s expense during the presentation.

But his embarrassment when the footage was shown seemed to indicate that it might be real. And now that the Clippers have promoted it as a possibility, the team should go ahead with it, right? Ballmer is an owner made for an in-arena fancam.

On a much more serious note, Ballmer was asked about the Clippers losing Paul George to the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency. After signing a four-year, $212 million contract with the Sixers, George revealed on his podcast that he didn’t want to leave the Clippers and loved Ballmer, but that he found the team’s initial offer to him “disrespectful.”

Ballmer said Friday that the love is mutual, but that the Clippers felt they were making the best offer they could under the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement while maintaining a competitive roster.

“I love Paul,” Ballmer told reporters, including ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “Let’s start with Paul as a person. Paul is a great person and I really enjoyed my opportunity to get to know Paul’s family. So on a personal level, I hated it. I hated it.”

Ultimately, Ballmer said he’s happy for George, even though he’s gone to another team.

“He wanted to go and I respect that,” Ballmer added. “Basketball players don’t have that many years in their lives to really make money, etc. I wish he was here and I wish him the best. We added a lot of great players that we wouldn’t have been able to add otherwise. So I’m happy about that too.”

The Clippers re-signed James Harden while adding Derrick Jones Jr., Nicolas Batum, Kevin Porter Jr. and Mo Bamba — presumably with the money they saved by not re-signing George — and traded Russell Westbrook to the Utah Jazz for Kris Dunn.

“I think people are thinking very carefully about how they continue to build their rosters to win,” Ballmer explained. “I think people will be over the second apron, but when you’re over the second apron, you’ve got to feel like you have a clear shot.

“It’s not about the luxury tax anymore,” he added. “It’s about the penalties in terms of how you get better. I’m not willing to sacrifice to get better. I’m still willing to pay the money. But it’s more than money now.”