Steve Ballmer was less than thrilled to see Paul George walk out of the door, and the Clippers owner explained that he did his best to keep the nine-time All-Star in Los Angeles.
The Clippers’ first offer in the negotiations to keep George came in October 2023, at $60 million over two years.
But the 76ers eventually stole him in free agency, signing George to a four-year, $212 million contract.
“I love Paul,” Ballmer said, per ESPN. “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.”
On his “Podcast P with Paul George,” George recently said the Clippers’ initial offer was “disrespectful,” but Ballmer thought it was a “great offer” given they had to navigate the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement while maintaining a competitive roster.
“From a basketball perspective, Paul is a fantastic player, future Hall of Famer. But we knew we needed to continue to get better, ” Ballmer said. “… But it was a great offer in terms of us thinking about how to win championships. It wasn’t what Paul wanted.”
The Clippers returned to negotiations with George at the end of the season, and they presented him a three-year, $150 million offer that George wanted a no-trade clause added to.
The Clippers weren’t willing to go there, and George then asked for the full max offer of four years, $212 million — which was eventually turned down as well.
the Uninterrupted Film Festival 2024 at NeueHouse Hollywood on
July 09, 2024 in Hollywood, California. Getty Images for Uninterrupted, LLC
“He wanted to go and I respect him for that,” Ballmer said. “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 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.”
In the offseason, the Clippers re-signed James Harden and added Derrick Jones Jr., Nicolas Batum, Kevin Porter Jr., Kris Dunn, and Mo Bamba.
Kawhi Leonard also signed a three-year, $150 million extension in January.
Ballmer believes his retooled team — with Leonard and Harden as the focal points — will be a contender in the upcoming season, similar to how the Mavericks made it to the NBA Finals featuring Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and a collection of role players, according to ESPN.
“I think we’re going to be a very, very good team,” he 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.”
George averaged 22.6 points per game and shot 47.1 percent from the field for the Clippers in the 2023-24 season.
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