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Steve Ballmer's gesture to Clippers fans feels evil after Game 7 loss

On second thought, maybe flying out The Wall was kind of messed up.
May 1, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
May 1, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Maybe Steve Ballmer is actually a supervillain.

Okay, I guess it's not so crazy to say that one of the founders of Microsoft, who is worth 125 billion dollars, is a villain.

But on Saturday, he flew out 120 members of The Wall and bought their tickets to watch the Los Angeles Clippers play in Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets. More specifically, he flew out 120 members of The Wall to watch the Clippers get eviscerated by the Denver Nuggets, 120-101, in Game 7.

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For the record, I don't think Steve Ballmer is actually evil. Well, any more evil than other sports owners, I guess. But him flying out hardcore Clippers fans to watch their team on the road in the playoffs is, I must admit, a really cool move. If he could build a more competitive roster for them to watch, it would be even cooler, but I digress.

Clippers season ends with brutal loss to Nuggets

Everything "went right" for the Clippers. Kawhi Leonard was healthy, the team was clicking heading into the playoffs and both Norman Powell and Iviza Zubac were playing the best basketball of their careers.

And the season ended in the first round. Again. Fourth year in a row. It didn't matter. This is the best it could have been for Los Angeles, and it wasn't enough in the face of Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.

I don't know what's next for this team — really, I don't know what they're going to do and I don't know what they should do. Is it time to trade Kawhi Leonard? Would any other team be willing to part with draft picks for an aging, oft-injured star?