Clippers owner Steve Ballmer took losing Paul George in free agency hard: 'I hated it'

The Los Angeles Clippers showed off their new home arena, Intuit Dome, to media on Friday. Among the eye-popping features is the "Halo Board," a massive double-sided, wraparound 4K video board.

"When I think about what fans will be thinking about when they drive home, it very well may be the size, shape and capability of this board," said Clippers president of business operations Gillian Zucker (via the Los Angeles Times).

The board might also include a "Steve Ballmer cam," showing the team's ebullient owner clapping, cheering and fist-pumping during the action. It's possible that touting the "Steve Cam" was a joke at Ballmer's expense during the presentation.

However, his embarrassment when the footage was shown seemed to indicate it might be for real. And really, now that the Clippers have promoted this as a possibility, the team has to go through with it, right? Ballmer is an owner made for an in-arena fan cam.

On a far more serious note, Ballmer was asked about the Clippers losing Paul George to the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency. After signing a four-year, $212 million contract with the Sixers, George revealed on his podcast that he didn't want to leave the Clippers and loves Ballmer, but felt the team's initial offer to him was "disrespectful."

Ballmer said on Friday that the love is mutual, but the Clippers made what they saw as the best offer they could make under the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement while maintaining a competitive roster.

"I love Paul," Ballmer told reporters, including ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. "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."

Ultimately, Ballmer said he's happy for George, even if he went to another team.

"He wanted to go and I respect him for that," Ballmer added. "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."

The Clippers re-signed James Harden, while adding Derrick Jones Jr., Nicolas Batum, Kevin Porter Jr. and Mo Bamba — presumably with the money they saved by not re-signing George — and traded Russell Westbrook to the Utah Jazz for Kris Dunn.

"I think people are going to be very thoughtful about how they continue to build their rosters to win," Ballmer explained. "I think people are going to be over the second apron, but when you're over the second apron, you better feel like you got a clear shot.

"It's not about the luxury tax anymore," he added. "It's about the penalties in terms of how you get better. I'm not willing to sacrifice getting better. Still willing to pay the money. But it's more than money now."