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, Intuit Dome, to media on Friday. Among the eye-popping features are the “Halo Board,” a massive double-sided, wraparound 4K video board.

“When I think about what fans will be thinking about when they drive home, it very well may be the size, shape and capability of this board,” said Clippers president of business operations Gillian Zucker (via the Los Angeles Times).

“It’s unfair. It’s not right,” Steve Ballmer says about the regular t-shirt toss you see at NBA games. So what did the Clippers do? They put t-shirt cannons on the Halo Board that can apparently hit every seat in the arena so no one is left out. No, I’m not kidding! pic.twitter.com/6N5mO9psxa

— Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) July 19, 2024

The board might also include a “Steve Ballmer cam,” showing the team’s ebullient owner clapping, cheering and fist-pumping during the action. It’s possible that touting the “Steve Cam” was a joke at Ballmer’s expense during the presentation.

However, his embarrassment when the footage was shown seemed to indicate it might be for real. And really, now that the Clippers have promoted this as a possibility, the team has to go through with it, right? Ballmer is an owner made for a in-arena fan cam.

On a far 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 loves Ballmer, but felt the team’s initial offer to him was “disrespectful.”

Ballmer said on Friday that the love is mutual, but the Clippers made what they saw as the best offer they could make 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 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.”

Ultimately, Ballmer said he’s happy for George, even if he went…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/clippers-owner-steve-ballmer-took-losing-paul-george-in-free-agency-hard-i-hated-it-044119296.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-07-20 04:41:19

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