DALLAS — Steve Ballmer leaned over from his baseline seat and shook hands with a reporter walking by, the Clippers owner appearing somber after watching his team get eliminated from the playoffs with a 114-101 loss in Game 6 against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Arena.

A few minutes later, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said Ballmer walked into the locker room and spoke to the players.

Along with president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, Ballmer has a lot of decisions to make about the future of the franchise as it prepares to move into its new arena, the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, next season.

Most of the questions will center on the health of Kawhi Leonard, contract extensions for Paul George and Lue and whether the Clippers re-sign James Harden.

So Ballmer's decision to talk to players after their season-ending loss meant "a lot" to the team, Lue said.

"You have the seventh-, eighth-richest man in the world and he's a real fan. Like, he's a real fan. Like, he treats us like family," Lue said. "He actually genuinely cares about each individual and we've seen that time and time again. So, when you have an owner that really respects who you are, not as a basketball player, but a person and who you are, that means a lot. Not just putting you on a basketball court and saying, 'OK, you work for me.' Like, he really genuinely cares about each individual. He cares about the wins. He's fired up. He's passionate about it. And, so, that's what I love the most about Mr. Ballmer. He treats everyone as equals."

The Clippers again had to play without Leonard, who missed his fourth game in the series because of inflammation in his right knee. He played 68 games during the regular season but missed the final eight with the knee issue. He played in Games 2 and 3 against the Mavericks but was limited. Leonard didn't make the trip to Dallas for Game 6.

"The times he was around, he was very frustrated," George said. "You could see it on him. He wanted to be out there. He wanted to be with us. But like we said, it was more staff keeping him back, noticing that he wasn't himself, to protect him. So he was ready to lace it up and give whatever he could. So I know it was frustrating for him not to be able to be out there with us."

Leonard signed a three-year extension worth about $152 million that starts next season. But George hasn't signed an extension. He has a player option for next season at $48.7 million. The most the Clippers can offer George is a four-year extension worth up to $221 million, and that would be contingent upon him opting out of the last year of his deal.

After struggling through a 6-for-18 night, George was asked if he could view himself being with the Clippers long term alongside Leonard and Harden.

...continued

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.