Clay Travis: “Steve Ballmer is a stone-cold assassin. In retrospect. I feel like I blew it because I didn’t give enough respect to Ballmer. This is a guy who has been throwing elbows and fighting battles in major corporate intrigue for decades. As an NBA owner there was no way he was going to allow his brand and Clippers franchise to be totally owned by the Lakers. Whether it’s his coach Doc Rivers or his GM Jerry West, he has surrounded himself with a lot of really smart people to help him make decisions and I think ultimately this was a verdict on the ownership structure and management of the Clippers, which is far and away better than the Lakers. You tend to overvalue the loudest people and not value the quiet.”
Listen to Clay Travis explain why everyone seemed to get the Kawhi Leonard-to-the-Clippers move completely wrong, as a wild three-week period of speculation finally ended in the two-time NBA Finals MVP shockingly picking the Los Angeles Clippers over the Lakers and Raptors.
Clay thinks NBA insiders and analysts were on the wrong trail when it came to predicting where Kawhi was going to go, and fell for the loudest reports regarding the supposed front-running Lakers and Raptors while not even bothering giving the quiet Clippers a chance.
Travis says we should have never doubted Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, whose contributions spear-heading one of the world’s most successful organizations, Microsoft, has made him one of the most pioneering entrepreneurs in human history. Clay says it’s never a good idea to bet against businessmen like Ballmer who are notorious for making legendary deals.
Check out the audio below as Clay explains why he regrets counting the Clippers out in the Kawhi Leonard sweepstakes.