While NBA players were playing in the World Cup, Paul George connected the guests to the microphone of his podcast, and this week, he invited his… boss, Steve Ballmer. The former Microsoft executive has completely changed the image of the Clippers since his takeover in 2014, and the coming season will not be like any other since it will be the last in Los Angeles.
In a year, the Clippers will pack their bags for Inglewood where a new room and new facilities await them. Nearly 10 years after dropping $2 billion, he recounted how he had the idea of buying the Clippers at the time of the Sterling affair.
“When the Sterling thing came out and my youngest son said to me, ‘Dad, Dad, you need to get on with it.’ This thing is going to be for sale.” The problem is that we don’t know who to buy the team from.” says the owner of the Clippers. “Who is selling the team? How do I get in touch with the Sterlings? What the fuck? Eventually, I found a way to meet Shelly Sterling. She said, “Just tell me how much you want to pay.” That’s all I got on the phone. »
In nine years, the value of the franchise has almost doubled
And what’s next? Ballmer wants to impress Mrs. Sterling, and he finds out about the best players. “I told myself I had to impress this woman. I have to impress him. How to impress him? I need to know who the best players in Clippers history are. If we go back, it’s Elton Brand… We walk into the house, we go through the garage, and I see an Elton Brand jersey. I was like, “Woohoo! I’ve found ! I solved the riddle! I dropped his name.”
All that remains is to agree on the amount, and Ballmer doesn’t want to be overtaken. He takes out 2 billion dollars! A monstrous sum for the time, especially for a cursed franchise. And he admits that he went a little hard.
“The tender process has started. I was always up for it, but we were in the bidding process and I just said, ‘I’m going to get this team.'”says Ballmer. “People thought I paid too much, but I got the team. I probably paid 10% too much, maybe, than was necessary.”
Nine years later, the franchise is valued at $3.9 billion…
