The past year for the Clippers has been about reconstruction, with the team having traded both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin since the end of the 2016/17 season, and letting DeAndre Jordan walk in free agency. The team’s brass finally has salary-cap flexibility and the franchise is eager to take that flexibility into the summer of 2019, when many stars – such as Kawhi Leonard – are expected to be available.
“You’ve got to take the payroll down to take it up. We’re going to recruit our asses off, whatever it takes to give you the best team that we can give you year in and year out,” owner Steve Ballmer said (via Helene Elliot of The Los Angeles Times).
While this season is expected to be a down year for the club, don’t expect Ballmer and company to tank.
“That ain’t us. Nuh-uh, no way,” Ballmer told Clippers’ season ticket holders and fans. “People can do it their way. We’re going to be good our way. We’re not going to show up and suck for a year, two years. I think we got higher expectations on us than the long, hard five, six years of absolute crap like the 76ers put in. How could we look you guys in the eye if we did that to you?”
Ballmer also spoke about his plans to take the Clippers out of the Staples Center.
“We’re moving to Inglewood come hell or high water,” he said of a proposed arena near the site of the stadium being constructed for the NFL’s Rams and Chargers. “We gotta have a house. So we’re working on a plan to get our own house. We want to get our own house. It turns out the way this works in L.A., which is much beloved to me, that if you start now you might be done in six years.”
Ballmer’s wife, Connie, has remained in the Pacific Northwest, an area where Ballmer served as the CEO of Microsoft for 14 years. That has resulted in speculation that the Clippers could potentially be relocated to Seattle. However, the former CEO shot down those rumors.
“I love L.A. I also love my wife, by the way, but I love L.A. and I don’t want there to be any mistake about it. We want to be part of the fabric of this community,” Ballmer exclaimed.
If they want to move to Inglewood, why not a completely redone Forum instead of a whole new arena?
Absolutely.
The forum is a church and concert venue now
Steve, LA doesn’t want you though. Clippers are a dumpster fire of a franchise much like the browns in football. Just take this franchise and move it up north where there are fans that had there frachinse unjustly taken away. Seattle is a better market for the clippers to go. Most clippers game are empty and no one goes. How is it that a clippers home game against lakers is 3/4ths lakers fans? Do us a favor and please take them away or maybe take them back to san diego. Thanks!
Wait wait wait, Cleveland isn’t that.. Okay, you’re right. The Browns are a massive dumpster fire, if that dumpster was shared by a barber shop and a pet store.
Love his comments about the Sixers.
Lol the Clippers were terrible for years until the league forced the CP3 trade. What’s he smoking? They didnt “tank” they just made terrible move after terrible move. Kyrie Irving would have been a Clipper…
Move the franchise to Seattle, get rid of the Clipper name and bring the SuperSonics back
Vegas baby!
That’s not a bad idea either
Man he sounds whiny….
I think he should take the team to Anaheim and the team can be the Angels and fall themselves Los Angeles even though they are not or move it to Vegas. I think that would be a great place for them. They have hockey, they will soon have Football. Why not Basketball? Get out of the shadows of the Lakers and start something new. They’d crush it in Vegas I think if he can put together a good team.
No football in Anaheim
Whats funny is for all the nobody wants them here and the arena is empty and nobody goes to the Clipper games……. well, they have outdrawn the Lakers in Attendance from 2012-2017. Lakers overtook them last year by about 1,000 a game.
When the Clippers were so bad, Ballmer wasn’t the owner, he is the richest owner in the league & isn’t even close, so he deserve a vote of confidence to see were he takes the franchise, only thing I am not so sure is about the hiring of West… past his best really. But I do like them to stay in LA or if they move, only back to San Diego, Seattle needs a team, but not the Clippers, Las Vegas is not a city for the NBA & I truly hope they never get a team, it would be truly disappointing.
Clippers have higher attendance from 2012-2017…….. so i ask, whose not going to whose game?