NBA: Clippers Owner expects team to contend despite losing Paul George

Standing inside the LA Clippers’ new state of the art Intuit Dome, team owner Steve Ballmer said he “hated” seeing Paul George leave but made it clear he believes the retooled roster surrounding Kawhi Leonard and James Harden can contend this season.

Ballmer — who gave reporters a final preview of the Clippers’ new home and the first glimpse of the double-sided display called “The Halo Board” — said he likes the club’s new roster. Ballmer believes the Clippers will be competitive even without George and fan favorite Russell Westbrook.

“I love Paul,” Ballmer said. “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.

“From a basketball perspective, Paul is a fantastic player, future Hall of Famer. But we knew we needed to continue to get better. And with the new CBA, what tools, what flexibility [can be restricted], 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.”

George signed a four-year, $212 million max deal with the Philadelphia 76ers earlier this month.

“He wanted to go, and I respect him for that,” Ballmer said of George. “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 Harden and added Derrick Jones Jr., Nic Batum, Kevin Porter Jr., Kris Dunn and Mo Bamba this offseason with defense in mind. Dunn came in a trade with Utah for Westbrook, who is expected to be waived by the Jazz to pave the way for the former MVP to sign with the Denver Nuggets once he clears waivers, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.