Steve Ballmer and the Los Angeles Clippers opened the doors to the Intuit Dome on Friday afternoon for media to take a look at the state of the art facility in Inglewood, California. While the new arena and its features took centerstage, the departure of star Paul George to the Philadelphia 76ers was also a major talking point.

George, who spurned the Clippers in free agency, accepted a four-year $212 million deal from the Sixers early in free agency. He rejected the Clippers' final offer of around $150 million over three years, the same deal Kawhi Leonard agreed to back in January when he declined the 2024-25 option in his deal.

With the new arena opening up, many were hoping the Clippers would have as many stars and big names on board as possible. Instead, they'll enter Intuit Dome without Paul George and Russell Westbrook.

“I love Paul,” Steve Ballmer told reporters in Inglewood during the team's Halo Board unveiling. “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, Paul’s family. So on a personal level, I hate it. I hate it.

“From a basketball perspective, Paul is a fantastic player, a future hall of fame I would say, but we knew we needed to continue to get better. And with the new CBA, what tools, what flexibility, we made Paul what I consider a great offer, but it was a great offer in terms of us thinking about how to win championships. It wasn’t what Paul wanted, so he wanted to go, and I respect him for that. Basketball players don't have that many years in their life to really make money. I wish he was here and I wish him well and we got a lot of great players that we added that we wouldn’t have been able to add otherwise so I’m happy about that too.”

Throughout the 2023-24 season, Paul George said he was optimistic that the Clippers and his representation would agree on a new contract, but talks were halted at the All-Star break. With George electing to focus on the remainder of the season, rumors of the Philadelphia 76ers' interested continued to grow with reports that they were willing to offer him the four-year max offer that the Clippers were not.

In the end, Paul George turned down multiple offers and sign-and-trade scenarios with the Clippers, opting out of his deal to hit free agency in July.

Under Steve Ballmer, the Clippers have had exorbitantly expensive payrolls, and if not for the new CBA, they would've paid their players whatever they wanted. With the new CBA in place, roster construction becomes incredibly difficult. The three-year, $150 million deal offered to Paul George would've placed the Clippers within the dreaded second apron for the 2024-25 season, but they would have likely been out of it heading into the 2025-26 season.

The 76ers, who came into this offseason with max cap space, seized the opportunity and offered George the four-year max offer he was looking for.

“In terms of being opportunistic via trades, we'll always look out for that,” President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank told members of the media in Las Vegas. “I think we're going to be highly competitive in the short term while looking for opportunities get better and also we want to maintain some flexibility in the longterm. For that sustainability, we're not going to all of a sudden say, ‘okay Paul's out, let's go run and do something that maybe doesn't fit within the big picture that could be reckless.' We're not going to do that at the expense of trying to find a third scorer. Team building for each team is going to be different with this new CBA, the ages of your best players and what they're making impacts what you do.

“So we'll look at everything, but we're not going to be reckless if it really sacrifices future flexibility going forward because I think we're going to be very good in the short term and we're also going to have flexibility in the long term to make this a sustainable organization that's always in pursuit of winning championships.”

With the departure of Paul George for the 76ers, Steve Ballmer and the Clippers were able to build out their roster in a way they were previously not able to. They gained access to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which they used to sign Derrick Jones Jr. They also used the bi-annual exception to sign Nicolas Batum.

The team was also able to sign-and-trade for Kris Dunn while also acquiring Mo Bamba and Kevin Porter Jr.

“I loved having the four L.A. guys last year,” Ballmer added. “I love having the two L.A. guys for this coming year. But to have that sense of connection in a historical, growing up way, particularly two great payers, two hall of fame players, I think it’s really special.

“I think we’re gonna have a good team this year. We’ll see how good we are. I like our guys, I like how hard we’re gonna compete, and we’ll see how far we go, but I like where we are right now. Obviously very different team, changes in players, but I like where we are and I like the team that’s gonna open this building for us.”

The Clippers are set to open up the Intuit Dome with a Bruno Mars concert on August 15th. The home opener for the Clippers is set for October 23, 2024, but the opponent has yet to be announced.

Paul George, meanwhile, is expected to have his introductory press conference with the 76ers within the next week back in Philadelphia.