The Los Angeles Clippers opened their new arena, the Intuit Dome, to the media on Friday, and one of the standout features is the giant, double-sided, wraparound 4K videoboard known as the “Halo Board.”
“If you think about what our fans are thinking about as they drive home, it’s likely going to be the size, shape and functionality of this board,” Clippers president of business operations Jillian Zucker said (via the Los Angeles Times ).
“It’s not fair. It’s not right,” Steve Ballmer said of the T-shirt tossing that is a common sight at NBA games. So what did the Clippers do? They installed a T-shirt cannon on their Halo board so they could hit every seat in the arena, so no one gets left behind. No joke. pic.twitter.com/6N5mO9psxa
— Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) July 19, 2024
The board may also include a “Steve Ballmer Cam,” which shows the team’s energetic owner clapping, cheering and pumping his fist during a game. The promotion of the “Steve Cam” during the presentation could have been a joke poking fun at Ballmer.
But his embarrassment when the video was released seemed to indicate it might be real. And indeed, now that the Clippers have touted this as a possibility, surely the team has to go for it? Ballmer is an owner born for the in-arena fan cameras.
On a 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 76ers, George said on the podcast that he didn’t want to leave the Clippers and that he loved Ballmer, but felt the team’s initial offer was “disrespectful.”
Ballmer said Friday that while there is mutual affection between the two sides, the Clippers made 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 person. Paul is a great person and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Paul’s family. So, personally, I hated it. I really hated it.”
In the end, Ballmer said he’d be happy for George even if he went to another team.
“He wanted to leave and I respect that,” Ballmer added. “As a basketball player, you only have so many years in your life to make money. I wish he was here and I wish him the best. The great players we added to our team we wouldn’t have had otherwise, so I’m happy for that.”
The Clippers re-signed James Harden and acquired Derrick Jones Jr., Nicolas Batum, Kevin Porter Jr. and Mo Bamba, likely with the money saved from not re-signing George, and traded Russell Westbrook to the Utah Jazz for Kris Dunn.
“People are going to be very careful about how they build their teams to win,” Ballmer explained. “People are going to get to the second apron, but when you get to the second apron, you better feel like you have a chance.”
“It’s not about the luxury tax anymore,” he added. “It’s about the penalty for improvement. I’m not going to sacrifice improvement. I’m still going to pay the money. But it’s about more than the money now.”