'They're done building around him': Inside the tumultuous Kawhi Leonard era in Los Angeles

ON AUG. 18, 2014, Steve Ballmer shouted, chest-bumped and high-fived his mode done a frenzied assemblage of 4,500 fans wrong Staples Center successful downtown Los Angeles. Eminem's "Lose Yourself" thumped overhead. The erstwhile Microsoft CEO had conscionable paid a then-record $2 cardinal for the LA Clippers, astatine erstwhile rescuing the team, the metropolis of Los Angeles and the NBA from 1 of its darkest eras.

"We're going to beryllium bold. Bold means taking chances," Ballmer thundered into the microphone aft taking the stage. "We're going to beryllium optimistic. We're going to beryllium hardcore. Nothing gets successful our mode -- boom! The hardcore Clippers. That's us."

Ballmer took questions from season-ticket holders, including 1 who was 26 and wanted to cognize however the adjacent 26 years of the franchise would beryllium antithetic aft the 33-year tenure of erstwhile proprietor Donald Sterling.

"I'll boldly accidental the Clippers volition triumph many, galore much Larrys successful the adjacent 26 years than they did successful the past 26," helium said, referring to the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

Ballmer possessed unmatched monetary resources and ambition to conception a dynasty from the smoldering ruins of Sterling's disgraced tenure. Ballmer was competitory and innovative, unafraid to excavation into immoderate of the deepest pockets connected Earth, driven to bring his title aspirations to life.

Eleven years later, Ballmer's biggest and astir ambitious stake to present that title -- oregon adjacent the franchise's archetypal NBA Finals quality -- has failed connected the court, where, during the six seasons since the Clippers' blockbuster 2019 acquisition of superstar Kawhi Leonard, the squad has won conscionable 3 playoff bid and Leonard has lone played successful 42% of their games.

But that nonaccomplishment extends further, due to the fact that from astir since the infinitesimal Leonard signed successful Los Angeles, Ballmer and the squad person besides drawn unprecedented and superior scrutiny from the NBA league bureau and the remainder of the NBA.

Since 2019, the Clippers person faced 2 abstracted lawsuits alleging tampering violations involving Leonard, 1 of which remains ongoing. They've been fined astatine slightest doubly by the NBA for violations of league rules involving Leonard. There person besides been astatine least 3 NBA investigations -- the latest of which conscionable began -- into the Clippers involving Leonard.

The shadiness of this latest 1 -- which volition analyse allegations that the Clippers circumvented the wage cap, with Leonard receiving a $28 cardinal sponsorship deal from a now-bankrupt institution that Ballmer invested $50 cardinal in -- volition hover implicit the squad entering grooming camp. And it could continue into the season, pursuing a summertime successful which the Clippers tried to bolster a roster that won 50 games past play earlier losing successful the archetypal circular to Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. They reunited with 40-year-old constituent defender Chris Paul for his 21st NBA season. They added 32-year-old shooting defender Bradley Beal aft his tumultuous stint successful Phoenix. They re-signed 36-year-old shooting defender James Harden to a two-year deal. They added 27-year-o...