Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George is set to face the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night for the first time since leaving the team this past offseason, and Clippers governor Steve Ballmer opened up about his departure.

Ballmer told ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk that the Clippers made an attempt to keep George but also realized that signing him to a huge contract would hinder them from adding more talent to their roster.

"We wanted Paul back," Ballmer said. "We made him a big offer. We really wanted him here. We just wanted to not put ourselves in a position where we can't consistently be good. We offered them the max for three years and Philly offered them the max for four years. OK, I get it. But in terms of our trajectory and staying really good, it was really going to be an issue for us."

Ballmer went on to declare that Los Angeles managed to improve despite losing the nine-time All-Star.

"The truth is, with Paul not coming back, we were able to upgrade our team," Ballmer said. "We don't [sign] Derrick Jones Jr. if Paul comes back. We don't [sign] Kris Dunn, [or have] our new defensive identity. Might not have [signed] Kevin Porter Jr., Nico [Batum]. ... You could say, well, they're not Paul George. No, they're not Paul George."

While Ballmer's claims that the Clippers are better without George might raise some eyebrows, some of the players share the same views. Swingman Norman Powell called George's departure "addition by subtraction" and said there are many players who could step up and fill his role.

Star forward Kawhi Leonard, who has yet to make his season debut while nursing a knee injury, agreed that losing George doesn't have to impact the team in a negative way.

"You don't need that many stars to win," Leonard said. "It's about the amount of people you have around you. You need talent. If it's three superstars, you still need those role players or piece players within that team to make you win a championship, even if it's two or one [star] player. We'll see as the season goes on and the pieces we need or if it's the right team to win. We feel like we got some players that could help us. But we'll see as it unfolds."