When billionaire Steve Ballmer bought the Los Angeles Clippers in 2014, he acquired a team that had found itself a nice little niche as a perennial playoff participant. However, the team, led by Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan, could never put together a strong postseason run. The closest they got to a championship was in 2014-15, losing the Western Conference Semifinals in seven games against the Houston Rockets.
Ballmer and his team of executives set out to change the identity of the team in hopes of getting further in the playoffs. After the Toronto Raptors won the 2019 title, the Clippers signed Kawhi Leonard to a long-term contract. That same offseason, they traded for Paul George, sending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five first-round picks, and two pick swaps to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Those moves have led to exactly three playoff series wins. The Clippers defeated the Mavericks in the first round during the 2020 bubble playoffs, then beat the Mavericks and Jazz en route to the Western Conference semifinals in 2021.
Leonard and George have played a combined 24 playoff games together since joining forces in 2019. And the team has committed $484 million to its two stars.
Paul George (L) and Kawhi Leonard (Harry How/Getty Images)
Both players signed nearly identical four-year extensions in 2021 with player options for the final season. It's possible that next summer, one or both of Leonard and George opt out and seek a longer deal, either with the Clippers or another team.
So far, the Clippers have paid George about $148.2 million and Leonard about $146.9 million. The remaining two years on their deal — assuming both players opt in — will be worth a little more than $94.4 million.
Add it all together, and the duo will get about $484 million from Ballmer and the Clippers. Nearly half a billion dollars for three playoff series victories is likely not what Ballmer had in mind when he made these moves in 2019. Yet in an interesting twist, the 2021 trip to the Western Conference Finals is the best playoff performance the franchise has ever had.
And hey, there's always next season to turn everything around. After all, Leonard only needed one season in Toronto to deliver a championship. Maybe he can pull it off again in Los Angeles.
