Is Steve Ballmer the best owner in the NBA?

[Godymas]

The Clippers seem to consistently be an FA destination in the off-season. Say what you want about the age of their roster, but they are always pulling veterans to fill out their team and guys are willing to sign for surprisingly friendly deals. The team seems to never have any issues internally, everyone seems generally happy, and so many players show up and have career years in LA. Norm Powell, Marcus Morris, Reggie Jackson, Paul George, Nic Batum, the list of guys that have made themselves more valuable just by playing on the Clippers seems never ending in the Kawhi Leonard era. Their ability to consistently make the playoffs is unmatched, they might be the most consistent team in terms of making the playoffs since the year 2010.

Then there's the new arena, which is supposed to be the most world class fan friendly arena in the entire NBA. Steve Ballmer seems dedicated towards delivering an exceptional fan experience with his infamous "bathrooms" quote to stacking the arena with technology such as facial scanning, audio detection, etc. The fact that Ballmer wants to reward fans that are passionate in his stadium is incredible. He also literally flew out fans to Denver in the playoffs this year, I can't think of an owner that would willingly do that.

The movement to Inglewood has been brilliant for the Clippers. The new central location makes the arena so much more attractive to NBA stars that are going to want to live in the expensive beach front properties that are further away from Crypto arena.

Say what you want about the Blake Griffin situation, but ultimately Ballmer extended Blake and then moved him. He didn't just put Blake out to dry. Sure it sucks that Blake fell off so quickly, but obviously they knew about the issue.

They somehow made losing Paul George as an FA a complete W, the team seems immaculate when it comes to actually comprehending the true value of their players.

I could care less if the Clippers never draft again if they remain a veteran FA destination, which is what it seems they are. The fact that they've treated Kawhi and Harden so well in their time there has drawn more veteran FAs with Lopez and Beal this off-season, but even in the past they've always seemed highly attractive.

I really hope this team wins a championship soon, because they really deserve it for all the effort they've put in.

The team seems to never have any issues internally, everyone seems generally happy

huh? there have been multiple internal issues. I think this is just recency bias on your end

1. There was the unceremonious way they traded Griffin months after they promised him they were building the team around him for years to come. That happened under Ballmer's watch. Your description of what happened is completely revisionist. Ballmer didnt do Blake some favor by giving him a contract and then moved him because he fell off. He literally lied to his face in order to get tradeable salary on the books. So yea... he definitely DID put Blake out to dry. If Blake wasnt tricked into re-signing with the Clippers he couldve chosen to sign wherever he wanted instead of getting shipped off to a garbage team to waste the rest of his prime.
2. There was the report that the Clippers basically allowed Kawhi to do whatever he wanted, which alienated the entire rest of the team
3. There was the whole Magic City thing with Lou Williams
4. There were negative exits by Montrez Harrell and Patrick Beverly. They traded for Rondo who had no desire to be there, and he bolted as soon as possible.
5. A Strength and Conditioning coach is currently suing the Clippers for wrongful termination, stating he was fired for speaking out against the teams mishandling of Kawhi's rehab.

so many players show up and have career years in LA. Norm Powell, Marcus Morris, Reggie Jackson, Paul George, Nic Batum

OK, now do the players who did NOT have career years lol
1. John Wall
2. Ben Simmons
3. RoCo
4. Rondo
5. Ibaka
6. Theis
7. Bones Hyland
8. PJ Tucket
I could go on...

Also, half the people YOU chose to use as examples did not even have career years with the Clippers. lol. what are you even talking about?

Reggie Jackson did not have career years with the Clippers. He literally had multiple better seasons with the Pistons
Nic Batum did not have career years with the Clippers. He literally had multiple better seasons with both the Blazers and Hornets lol.
...Paul George?... Youre arguing that Paul George had his career years... with the Clippers? I dont even know how to respond to that, other than to say its demonstrably false.

The movement to Inglewood has been brilliant for the Clippers. The new central location makes the arena so much more attractive to NBA stars that are going to want to live in the expensive beach front properties that are further away from Crypto arena.

I legitimately have NO idea in the slightest what... the hell... you think youre takling about here. An inglewood location makes it easier for NBA players to buy beach front properties further away from Crypto? lol. WHAT? I have literally never heard anyone make that claim. It doesnt even make sense. Playing in DTLA has never, and will never, make owning beach front property less convenient. that has got to be one of the weirdest takes I've ever read. And Ballmer didnt make the move for that reason... because that would be bat **** crazy. lol. I can guarantee you Ballmer didnt walk into Clippers ownership thinking "enough with this Downtown Los Angeles bull... the stars DEMAND we play in inglewood!" He just searched for areas where he could buy relatively cheap land, and there was room to build. its really that simple. We dont even know if thats gonna pay off financially by the way. The clippers had the worst attendance in the league last season. The arena was routinely half empty. Dont take my word for it. Ask the locals. I'm not saying it wont eventually become a popular place, but that hasnt come to fruition at this time.

Anyways... I mean yes, Ballmer is a great owner, with deep pockets... but gyatdamn dude, you really dont need to glaze this hard. i promise.

Wall of text, I’m not gonna argue back and forth because you view career years as “best season in a player’s career” when in reality a player can have multiple seasons that changed their career. Reggie and Batum completely revitalized their careers in LA.

Lol @ listing Bones Hyland and a near 40 year old PJ Tucker btw in your list of cases where guys did not do well in the Clippers, you could cherry pick that for every team ever. Bones had an attitude issue. As for Simmons, he definitely recouped some value in LA. Listing guys way past their primes in their mid 30s is not the same as listing a 30 year old Reggie Jackson who breaks out in the playoffs and proceeds to extend his career, or a 32 year old Batum fresh off his awful Charlotte contract now playing still 5 years later. Rondo, Ibaka, washed when they basically joined, well really Ibaka had a career year and signed with the Clippers after.

The other hilarious part is you not even looking at a map and then writing an essay on LA, LOL. You know DTLA is actually the worst part of LA, right? Guess who else plays in Inglewood? Both football teams.

Funny how the two guys you listed as “negative exits” aren’t even in the league anymore and bounced around nonsense teams after they literally made their careers on the Clippers.

[ryguy613]

The Clippers seem to consistently be an FA destination in the off-season. Say what you want about the age of their roster, but they are always pulling veterans to fill out their team and guys are willing to sign for surprisingly friendly deals. The team seems to never have any issues internally, everyone seems generally happy, and so many players show up and have career years in LA. Norm Powell, Marcus Morris, Reggie Jackson, Paul George, Nic Batum, the list of guys that have made themselves more valuable just by playing on the Clippers seems never ending in the Kawhi Leonard era. Their ability to consistently make the playoffs is unmatched, they might be the most consistent team in terms of making the playoffs since the year 2010.

Then there's the new arena, which is supposed to be the most world class fan friendly arena in the entire NBA. Steve Ballmer seems dedicated towards delivering an exceptional fan experience with his infamous "bathrooms" quote to stacking the arena with technology such as facial scanning, audio detection, etc. The fact that Ballmer wants to reward fans that are passionate in his stadium is incredible. He also literally flew out fans to Denver in the playoffs this year, I can't think of an owner that would willingly do that.

The movement to Inglewood has been brilliant for the Clippers. The new central location makes the arena so much more attractive to NBA stars that are going to want to live in the expensive beach front properties that are further away from Crypto arena.

Say what you want about the Blake Griffin situation, but ultimately Ballmer extended Blake and then moved him. He didn't just put Blake out to dry. Sure it sucks that Blake fell off so quickly, but obviously they knew about the issue.

They somehow made losing Paul George as an FA a complete W, the team seems immaculate when it comes to actually comprehending the true value of their players.

I could care less if the Clippers never draft again if they remain a veteran FA destination, which is what it seems they are. The fact that they've treated Kawhi and Harden so well in their time there has drawn more veteran FAs with Lopez and Beal this off-season, but even in the past they've always seemed highly attractive.

I really hope this team wins a championship soon, because they really deserve it for all the effort they've put in.

The team seems to never have any issues internally, everyone seems generally happy

huh? there have been multiple internal issues. I think this is just recency bias on your end

1. There was the unceremonious way they traded Griffin months after they promised him they were building the team around him for years to come. That happened under Ballmer's watch. Your description of what happened is completely revisionist. Ballmer didnt do Blake some favor by giving him a contract and then moved him because he fell off. He literally lied to his face in order to get tradeable salary on the books. So yea... he definitely DID put Blake out to dry. If Blake wasnt tricked into re-signing with the Clippers he couldve chosen to sign wherever he wanted instead of getting shipped off to a garbage team to waste the rest of his prime.
2. There was the report that the Clippers basically allowed Kawhi to do whatever he wanted, which alienated the entire rest of the team
3. There was the whole Magic City thing with Lou Williams
4. There were negative exits by Montrez Harrell and Patrick Beverly. They traded for Rondo who had no desire to be there, and he bolted as soon as possible.
5. A Strength and Conditioning coach is currently suing the Clippers for wrongful termination, stating he was fired for speaking out against the teams mishandling of Kawhi's rehab.

so many players show up and have career years in LA. Norm Powell, Marcus Morris, Reggie Jackson, Paul George, Nic Batum

OK, now do the players who did NOT have career years lol
1. John Wall
2. Ben Simmons
3. RoCo
4. Rondo
5. Ibaka
6. Theis
7. Bones Hyland
8. PJ Tucket
I could go on...

Also, half the people YOU chose to use as examples did not even have career years with the Clippers. lol. what are you even talking about?

Reggie Jackson did not have career years with the Clippers. He literally had multiple better seasons with the Pistons
Nic Batum did not have career years with the Clippers. He literally had multiple better seasons with both the Blazers and Hornets lol.
...Paul George?... Youre arguing that Paul George had his career years... with the Clippers? I dont even know how to respond to that, other than to say its demonstrably false.

The movement to Inglewood has been brilliant for the Clippers. The new central location makes the arena so much more attractive to NBA stars that are going to want to live in the expensive beach front properties that are further away from Crypto arena.

I legitimately have NO idea in the slightest what... the hell... you think youre takling about here. An inglewood location makes it easier for NBA players to buy beach front properties further away from Crypto? lol. WHAT? I have literally never heard anyone make that claim. It doesnt even make sense. Playing in DTLA has never, and will never, make owning beach front property less convenient. that has got to be one of the weirdest takes I've ever read. And Ballmer didnt make the move for that reason... because that would be bat **** crazy. lol. I can guarantee you Ballmer didnt walk into Clippers ownership thinking "enough with this Downtown Los Angeles bull... the stars DEMAND we play in inglewood!" He just searched for areas where he could buy relatively cheap land, and there was room to build. its really that simple. We dont even know if thats gonna pay off financially by the way. The clippers had the worst attendance in the league last season. The arena was routinely half empty. Dont take my word for it. Ask the locals. I'm not saying it wont eventually become a popular place, but that hasnt come to fruition at this time.

Anyways... I mean yes, Ballmer is a great owner, with deep pockets... but gyatdamn dude, you really dont need to glaze this hard. i promise.

Wall of text, I’m not gonna argue back and forth because you view career years as “best season in a player’s career” when in reality a player can have multiple seasons that changed their career. Reggie and Batum completely revitalized their careers in LA.

Lol @ listing Bones Hyland and a near 40 year old PJ Tucker btw in your list of cases where guys did not do well in the Clippers, you could cherry pick that for every team ever. Bones had an attitude issue. As for Simmons, he definitely recouped some value in LA. Listing guys way past their primes in their mid 30s is not the same as listing a 30 year old Reggie Jackson who breaks out in the playoffs and proceeds to extend his career, or a 32 year old Batum fresh off his awful Charlotte contract now playing still 5 years later. Rondo, Ibaka, washed when they basically joined, well really Ibaka had a career year and signed with the Clippers after.

The other hilarious part is you not even looking at a map and then writing an essay on LA, LOL. You know DTLA is actually the worst part of LA, right? Guess who else plays in Inglewood? Both football teams.

Funny how the two guys you listed as “negative exits” aren’t even in the league anymore and bounced around nonsense teams after they literally made their careers on the Clippers.

1. I'm not the one claiming that players come to the clippers and have "career years". First of all, clearly you dont know what the term "career year" means, but fine, lets just say its saying they have some kind of "good year" or whatever vague thing you want it to mean. You're claiming IM cherry picking people who that didnt apply for?... my brother in christ... you dont understand how cherry picking works. YOU made the claim, and YOU literally cherry picked like 6 example where it DID work lol... how do you not understand how this works? Any time a player has a good year with the Clippers its because the Clippers are great. Any time a player has a bad stint with the Clippers its because theyre washed. lol. Practically every team in the NBA can point to specific player stints that were good for said player. You choosing a handful where it happened with the Clippers is really pointless. I'm not out here arguing that NOBODY has a good stint with the Clippers, I'm refuting your claim that its some kind of Clipper magic that makes it happen, because if it was, we wouldnt have examples of times a player didnt.

2. I cant imagine anyone would take your opinion seriously here if you're claiming that PAUL **** GEORGE had career years on the clippers.

2. ...do you even live in southern california. I'm sincerely very curious about this because you come across as someone whose information comes from a podcast. If you dont live here (as i assume) then I'm happy to explain why what you're saying makes no sense. If you do live here (which i doubt) then all i can do is laugh.

3. So... you're inferring some kind of correlation between having a bad exit with the Clippers, and no longer having an NBA career? what an odd (and easily disprovable) thing to argue. I'm sorry thats the best rebuttal you can come up with against my disproving your claim that the franchise never has internal issues. grasp those straws though, buddy.

[Godymas]

huh? there have been multiple internal issues. I think this is just recency bias on your end

1. There was the unceremonious way they traded Griffin months after they promised him they were building the team around him for years to come. That happened under Ballmer's watch. Your description of what happened is completely revisionist. Ballmer didnt do Blake some favor by giving him a contract and then moved him because he fell off. He literally lied to his face in order to get tradeable salary on the books. So yea... he definitely DID put Blake out to dry. If Blake wasnt tricked into re-signing with the Clippers he couldve chosen to sign wherever he wanted instead of getting shipped off to a garbage team to waste the rest of his prime.
2. There was the report that the Clippers basically allowed Kawhi to do whatever he wanted, which alienated the entire rest of the team
3. There was the whole Magic City thing with Lou Williams
4. There were negative exits by Montrez Harrell and Patrick Beverly. They traded for Rondo who had no desire to be there, and he bolted as soon as possible.
5. A Strength and Conditioning coach is currently suing the Clippers for wrongful termination, stating he was fired for speaking out against the teams mishandling of Kawhi's rehab.



OK, now do the players who did NOT have career years lol
1. John Wall
2. Ben Simmons
3. RoCo
4. Rondo
5. Ibaka
6. Theis
7. Bones Hyland
8. PJ Tucket
I could go on...

Also, half the people YOU chose to use as examples did not even have career years with the Clippers. lol. what are you even talking about?

Reggie Jackson did not have career years with the Clippers. He literally had multiple better seasons with the Pistons
Nic Batum did not have career years with the Clippers. He literally had multiple better seasons with both the Blazers and Hornets lol.
...Paul George?... Youre arguing that Paul George had his career years... with the Clippers? I dont even know how to respond to that, other than to say its demonstrably false.



I legitimately have NO idea in the slightest what... the hell... you think youre takling about here. An inglewood location makes it easier for NBA players to buy beach front properties further away from Crypto? lol. WHAT? I have literally never heard anyone make that claim. It doesnt even make sense. Playing in DTLA has never, and will never, make owning beach front property less convenient. that has got to be one of the weirdest takes I've ever read. And Ballmer didnt make the move for that reason... because that would be bat **** crazy. lol. I can guarantee you Ballmer didnt walk into Clippers ownership thinking "enough with this Downtown Los Angeles bull... the stars DEMAND we play in inglewood!" He just searched for areas where he could buy relatively cheap land, and there was room to build. its really that simple. We dont even know if thats gonna pay off financially by the way. The clippers had the worst attendance in the league last season. The arena was routinely half empty. Dont take my word for it. Ask the locals. I'm not saying it wont eventually become a popular place, but that hasnt come to fruition at this time.

Anyways... I mean yes, Ballmer is a great owner, with deep pockets... but gyatdamn dude, you really dont need to glaze this hard. i promise.

Wall of text, I’m not gonna argue back and forth because you view career years as “best season in a player’s career” when in reality a player can have multiple seasons that changed their career. Reggie and Batum completely revitalized their careers in LA.

Lol @ listing Bones Hyland and a near 40 year old PJ Tucker btw in your list of cases where guys did not do well in the Clippers, you could cherry pick that for every team ever. Bones had an attitude issue. As for Simmons, he definitely recouped some value in LA. Listing guys way past their primes in their mid 30s is not the same as listing a 30 year old Reggie Jackson who breaks out in the playoffs and proceeds to extend his career, or a 32 year old Batum fresh off his awful Charlotte contract now playing still 5 years later. Rondo, Ibaka, washed when they basically joined, well really Ibaka had a career year and signed with the Clippers after.

The other hilarious part is you not even looking at a map and then writing an essay on LA, LOL. You know DTLA is actually the worst part of LA, right? Guess who else plays in Inglewood? Both football teams.

Funny how the two guys you listed as “negative exits” aren’t even in the league anymore and bounced around nonsense teams after they literally made their careers on the Clippers.

1. I'm not the one claiming that players come to the clippers and have "career years". First of all, clearly you dont know what the term "career year" means, but fine, lets just say its saying they have some kind of "good year" or whatever vague thing you want it to mean. You're claiming IM cherry picking people who that didnt apply for?... my brother in christ... you dont understand how cherry picking works. YOU made the claim, and YOU literally cherry picked like 6 example where it DID work lol... how do you not understand how this works? Any time a player has a good year with the Clippers its because the Clippers are great. Any time a player has a bad stint with the Clippers its because theyre washed. lol. Practically every team in the NBA can point to specific player stints that were good for said player. You choosing a handful where it happened with the Clippers is really pointless. I'm not out here arguing that NOBODY has a good stint with the Clippers, I'm refuting your claim that its some kind of Clipper magic that makes it happen, because if it was, we wouldnt have examples of times a player didnt.

2. I cant imagine anyone would take your opinion seriously here if you're claiming that PAUL **** GEORGE had career years on the clippers.

2. ...do you even live in southern california. I'm sincerely very curious about this because you come across as someone whose information comes from a podcast. If you dont live here (as i assume) then I'm happy to explain why what you're saying makes no sense. If you do live here (which i doubt) then all i can do is laugh.

3. So... you're inferring some kind of correlation between having a bad exit with the Clippers, and no longer having an NBA career? what an odd (and easily disprovable) thing to argue. I'm sorry thats the best rebuttal you can come up with against my disproving your claim that the franchise never has internal issues. grasp those straws though, buddy.

1. not going to address, because you clearly didn't watch these players on the Clippers and don't understand what a career year means, it means a year that pushed someone's career forward, obviously, which is what a good year is. Players get opportunities all the time to "prove it" in many situations and often times when players get "prove it" deals on the Clippers they do quite well, which leads to you hilariously trying to say that because Rondo got traded mid-season to the Clippers he disproves that they "help players" when the reality is Rondo had nothing to prove, he was just there to see if he had any interest what so ever. Rondo is also a head case, so when you're on his side you know you're on the wrong.

2. Do you use Google Maps? Just use Google Maps, it even has up to date traffic info!

3. No, YOU listed two specific players players, and I pointed out to you that both those players were blessed by the Clippers with opportunities to show their skills and fell off very quickly after they left the Clippers. Montrezl Harrell won the 6MOTY in the Clippers and then decides to leave and does literally nothing for the rest of his career and is out the league. Patrick Beverly became mostly known for his time on the Clippers, with a touch from his Rockets days. Gets a big head when he gets Kawhi Leonard, and then he ends up moving teams every single year until he's out of the league. You chose those two players as examples of "the Clippers mistreated them and they left on bad terms" when the reality is that you fail to point the fingers at the players themselves who you can factually trace lost their position in the NBA. You seem to attribute those players negative experience to the Clippers when the reality is that the negative issues with those players is on the players themselves. You can always find one or two edge cases to try and disprove and ultimatum, but guess what, in your argument, outliers don't count, and when you can factually see what happened to these players careers after they left the Clippers you will know that your argument of listing two players is one of the most ignorant I have ever seen.

[stuporman]

[ryguy613]

Wall of text, I’m not gonna argue back and forth because you view career years as “best season in a player’s career” when in reality a player can have multiple seasons that changed their career. Reggie and Batum completely revitalized their careers in LA.

Lol @ listing Bones Hyland and a near 40 year old PJ Tucker btw in your list of cases where guys did not do well in the Clippers, you could cherry pick that for every team ever. Bones had an attitude issue. As for Simmons, he definitely recouped some value in LA. Listing guys way past their primes in their mid 30s is not the same as listing a 30 year old Reggie Jackson who breaks out in the playoffs and proceeds to extend his career, or a 32 year old Batum fresh off his awful Charlotte contract now playing still 5 years later. Rondo, Ibaka, washed when they basically joined, well really Ibaka had a career year and signed with the Clippers after.

The other hilarious part is you not even looking at a map and then writing an essay on LA, LOL. You know DTLA is actually the worst part of LA, right? Guess who else plays in Inglewood? Both football teams.

Funny how the two guys you listed as “negative exits” aren’t even in the league anymore and bounced around nonsense teams after they literally made their careers on the Clippers.

1. I'm not the one claiming that players come to the clippers and have "career years". First of all, clearly you dont know what the term "career year" means, but fine, lets just say its saying they have some kind of "good year" or whatever vague thing you want it to mean. You're claiming IM cherry picking people who that didnt apply for?... my brother in christ... you dont understand how cherry picking works. YOU made the claim, and YOU literally cherry picked like 6 example where it DID work lol... how do you not understand how this works? Any time a player has a good year with the Clippers its because the Clippers are great. Any time a player has a bad stint with the Clippers its because theyre washed. lol. Practically every team in the NBA can point to specific player stints that were good for said player. You choosing a handful where it happened with the Clippers is really pointless. I'm not out here arguing that NOBODY has a good stint with the Clippers, I'm refuting your claim that its some kind of Clipper magic that makes it happen, because if it was, we wouldnt have examples of times a player didnt.

2. I cant imagine anyone would take your opinion seriously here if you're claiming that PAUL **** GEORGE had career years on the clippers.

2. ...do you even live in southern california. I'm sincerely very curious about this because you come across as someone whose information comes from a podcast. If you dont live here (as i assume) then I'm happy to explain why what you're saying makes no sense. If you do live here (which i doubt) then all i can do is laugh.

3. So... you're inferring some kind of correlation between having a bad exit with the Clippers, and no longer having an NBA career? what an odd (and easily disprovable) thing to argue. I'm sorry thats the best rebuttal you can come up with against my disproving your claim that the franchise never has internal issues. grasp those straws though, buddy.

1. not going to address, because you clearly didn't watch these players on the Clippers and don't understand what a career year means, it means a year that pushed someone's career forward, obviously, which is what a good year is. Players get opportunities all the time to "prove it" in many situations and often times when players get "prove it" deals on the Clippers they do quite well, which leads to you hilariously trying to say that because Rondo got traded mid-season to the Clippers he disproves that they "help players" when the reality is Rondo had nothing to prove, he was just there to see if he had any interest what so ever. Rondo is also a head case, so when you're on his side you know you're on the wrong.

2. Do you use Google Maps? Just use Google Maps, it even has up to date traffic info!

3. No, YOU listed two specific players players, and I pointed out to you that both those players were blessed by the Clippers with opportunities to show their skills and fell off very quickly after they left the Clippers. Montrezl Harrell won the 6MOTY in the Clippers and then decides to leave and does literally nothing for the rest of his career and is out the league. Patrick Beverly became mostly known for his time on the Clippers, with a touch from his Rockets days. Gets a big head when he gets Kawhi Leonard, and then he ends up moving teams every single year until he's out of the league. You chose those two players as examples of "the Clippers mistreated them and they left on bad terms" when the reality is that you fail to point the fingers at the players themselves who you can factually trace lost their position in the NBA. You seem to attribute those players negative experience to the Clippers when the reality is that the negative issues with those players is on the players themselves. You can always find one or two edge cases to try and disprove and ultimatum, but guess what, in your argument, outliers don't count, and when you can factually see what happened to these players careers after they left the Clippers you will know that your argument of listing two players is one of the most ignorant I have ever seen.

hahaha right. not from southern california, like i thought. ok buddy. sure. you nailed it! finally nba players dont need to be in scaaaaary downtown LA, and they're not forced to live on skid row anymore. now they get to live on the beach! lol.

im just gonna leave you with this... you do not need to cape for billionaires this hard man, unless you're on the payroll.