The Los Angeles Clippers are walking into the 2024-25 season without one of their superstar players while the other leads the squad into battle solo. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer guest starred on ESPN’s NBA Countdown pre-game to chat about his new crib and roster. He gave one answer that has the potential to draw major disagreement. Yet, it was his positive outlook that won the show.
LA Clippers Owner Steve Ballmer Is Confident in Kawhi Leonard’s Return to Play
Steve Ballmer Is Naturally Immune to Pessimism
When have we ever seen Ballmer portraying anything but positivity and energy? Ballmer undoubtedly has to be the liveliest, most pleasant, and most enjoyable figure in the NBA. He even holds the highest levels of optimism regarding his repeatedly injured superstar, Kawhi Leonard. The two-time NBA Finals MVP is sidelined again, as reported recently. How long Leonard will be out is not definitive at this time. So, the Clippers open up their regular season with James Harden leading the team.
Ballmer stole the show, though, on Wednesday night when he appeared alongside ESPN’s NBA Countdown crew. In pure Ballmer fashion, he was exhilarated to be there. But what might have been surprising was his response to a question Stephen A. Smith threw his way. He asked Ballmer if there was anything he would do differently between the moment he bought the Clippers and now. And, of course, Smith alluded to Leonard’s injury history.
“If you say, do I feel like we’ve made good choices along the way, absolutely, absolutely. I like the choices we’ve made. Now, we’ve been injury prone. We will have Kawhi here tonight, he won’t be in jersey, we will have Kawhi here tonight just for the record.” Ballmer continued, “Come on man, we have one of the greatest players of all-time and he will play again this season.”
Ballmer exclaimed that final part emphatically, so clearly, his confidence in Kawhi’s return is high. However, one could argue, from an outsider’s perspective anyway, that the Clippers iteration with Leonard (and Paul George) has amounted to more failure than success given the circumstances in recent years. Having said that, you have to respect Ballmer for his genuine optimism—it has to be gravitational. Well, perhaps not so much for Stephen A.
Ballmers Reflections on Clippers Roster
One could argue that the Clippers have zero superstars in jerseys at the moment unless one considers Harden to still fly in the superstar stratosphere. With Harden now 35 years old, Leonard injured, and George exiting in free agency, the Clippers roster doesn’t appear to be contention-worthy. Kendrick Perkins questioned the Clippers owner on Harden’s capacity to lead the Clippers in Leonard’s absence. Again, in Ballmer fashion, he was only optimistic.
“I like what we’ve got. I mean, I know kind of how people think about our team. We think we can really surprise some folks, get up in their grill a little bit. We do, and you know, what do we need to be, a bunch of tough, tough hard playing guys and thats what I think we’ve got out there.”
Seriously, match that energy, someone—I dare.
Will the Clippers Surprise?
It’s hard to imagine an aging Harden going Houston Rockets-Harden on the NBA until Leonard returns. And while the Clippers owners energy is admirable, the team has a tall task before them. It would be nice if the they could, at the very least, tread water until Kawhi returns, so all of the excitement garnered around a new Los Angeles Clippers era doesn’t lead to a dreadful season.
Is it possible to harness some of Steve Ballmer’s frenzied enthusiasm? It sure would be nice. That may be what Clippers fans need to endure a long season. For their sake, let’s hope Kawhi Leonard has some serious game to give upon his return.
