The days of Lob City seem distant after one season that will likely go to the land of forget for LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, who saw his team disintegrate from having a core of three important cogs to none in the span of a year.
It only took a year for the likes of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan to disappear — the first two traded to the Houston Rockets and the Detroit Pistons, respectively, with Jordan leaving in free agency for the Dallas Mavericks after being convinced to stay three years ago.
Yet Ballmer doesn't think this rebuilding phase implies tanking for the foreseeable future, with hope the team will remain competitive despite the lack of All-Star power.
“That ain’t us. Nuh-uh, no way,” said Ballmer, according to Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times. “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?”
The Clippers have reportedly geared toward the 2019 offseason, hoping to land a big-time free agent in Kawhi Leonard, who will likely become a free agent by the end of the season. Ballmer promised fans his team would put the effort forward to land the necessary piece to contend in the Western Conference.
“You’ve got to take the payroll down to take it up,” said Ballmer. “We’re going to recruit our a**es off, whatever it takes to give you the best team that we can give you year in and year out,”
The Clippers won't be alone in this pursuit of Leonard, as the in-town rival Los Angeles Lakers wil surely be making a bid for the 27-year-old star when the time comes.
Follow Us
Subscribe