Jerry West building Warrior dynasty(this should hurt Lakers)

Jerry West building Warrior dynasty(this should hurt Lakers)

Postby Lakers4Life » Wed Jul 06, 2016 9:45 pm

The horrified reaction from Southland basketball fans to Monday’s announcement that Kevin Durant was joining the Golden State Warriors was not about his destination, but his transportation.

He was supposedly talked into it by Jerry West? Are you kidding me?

The greatest basketball mind in Lakers history just pulled a historic free-agent coup for the Bay Area’s team on a weekend when the Lakers were settling for free agency’s scraps?

The architect of two different Lakers dynasties — he has seven Lakers championship rings, including one as a player — is creating another one with a rival team in the most rival of cities at a time when the Lakers franchise is coming off its two worst seasons ever?

This hurts. This really hurts.

West, 78, hasn’t been an official member of the Lakers for 16 years, not since that somber August day in 2000 when he announced his retirement, walking away from the beginning of the Shaq-Kobe era that he created.


It turns out, if course, that he retired only from the Buss family, not from basketball. Since then he created a solid foundation for the Memphis Grizzlies as their general manager, and then for the last five years has served as a member of the Warriors’ executive board, advising on their 2015 NBA championship and ensuing historic 73-win season.

None of those accomplishments slapped at his old home like his latest feat, though, a reported phone conversation that convinced one of basketball’s three best players to walk away from his professional home and jump on the bandwagon of what is now arguably the best NBA lineup in history.

This is the same Kevin Durant who wouldn’t even accept a phone call from the Lakers.

Yeah, this really hurts.

There will be a lot of opinions from many different directions on this monumental decision. The thought here is that Durant sadly sacrificed legacy for bling. He was only five wins from leading Oklahoma City to its first major professional sports championship this year, but instead of sticking around to finish the job, he fled to place where those five wins would come easier. He will still be a star player, but for now he has given up on that rare opportunity to be a franchise player, a landscape-changing player, and that’s too bad.

For Southern Californians, however, all these opinions mean far less than a sorely resurrected question that has nothing to do with either Durant or, really, even the Warriors.

Why isn’t Jerry West still hanging around making those calls for the Lakers?


The answer is complicated by revised history and muddled memories but, as one who was hanging around the Lakers during that time, your faithful correspondent can attest to a couple of truths.

During an interview about his retirement in August 2000, West said, “I need to get off this merry-go-round for a while.’’

He was not talking only about the pressures of winning a championship. He was also talking about the carnival ride that was the Lakers front office. At the time, three things were happening that were becoming increasingly distracting to West’s legendary focus.

First, Phil Jackson had just finished his first year as Lakers head coach and was slowly asserting more influence in personnel decisions. Second, Jackson and Lakers executive Jeanie Buss were beginning a personal relationship that could have changed the front-office dynamic. Third, inexperienced Jim Buss was slowly being introduced into a position of authority.

None of these factors were the reason West “retired.’’ He was always stronger than any perceived roadblock to his genius. He quit mostly because he was truly burned out, so much so that he spent one of the Lakers playoff games that spring in his car, driving the 101 Freeway and listening on the radio.


But all of those factors combined to make the Lakers front office a place that, instead of providing the mercurial West with needed stability, simply added more stress.

Who was really running the team, him or Jackson? Was disagreeing with Jackson now tantamount to disagreeing with ownership? And who in the heck was Jim Buss?

In hindsight, of course, Jackson proved his worth with five titles here, his relationship with Jeanie Buss has never factored in any major Lakers decision, and only the emergence of Jim Buss has since proved problematic.

But at the time, all of it was so uncertain, it would have been nice if the great Jerry Buss would have simply handed West the keys to the building and allowed him to do what he wanted, however he wanted, for as long as he wanted, with no questions asked.

That didn’t happen. And so West left, and 16 years later he just helped the Golden State Warriors acquire Durant while Jim Buss’ 17-win Lakers were acquiring Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng and … oh, my.

“Obviously, Jerry West is irreplaceable,’’ said Jerry Buss when West left the Lakers. “What he’s meant to the Laker franchise over the past 40 years is immeasurable.’’

He’s still irreplaceable. Only now, his worth to the Lakers can be be measured as clearly as the different shade of gold that will now adorn Kevin Durant’s back. Goodness, it hurts.



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Re: Jerry West building Warrior dynasty(this should hurt Lak

Postby 3Peatkb24 » Wed Jul 06, 2016 10:05 pm

Jerry West is the greatest GM of all-time. He just proved it again! He got Shaq to leave Orlando to go to LA in 1996, he traded Divac for Kobe during the Draft in 1996 so we could Draft Kobe, he hired Phil Jackson as Coach, and now he talks Durant into leaving Oklahoma to join his dynamite Warriors who he helped built. I often wonder when I do player rankings how much winning a Ring should factor in. I think if you are the best player on a team that wins a Ring it should factor in a lot but anyone can win a Ring on a stacked team. Is Ray Allen better than Reggie Miller? I would say NO but he has 2 Ring's to Reggie's 0 because he joined Garnett and Pierce in Boston, then rode LeBron, Wade's, and Bosh coattails to another. Yes he played good at times and literally saved the Heat's ass in Game 6 vs the Spurs but he was the 4th best player on that team. You take a player like Reggie, he carried the Pacers franchise for 18 seasons with decent help but nothing spectacular talent wise. Reggie still made the Conference Finals 6 times and the Finals once and his 2nd best player was Rik Smits for most of those years. In 2004 the year his team made the Conference Finals, Jermaine O'Neal and Ronny was his main help. Reggie never had close to the help Ray Allen has had. My point is how much will it really mean if Durant wins a Ring now, hell he should! I felt the same way about LeBron winning in Miami, to me it was cheap. Now the one he just won in Cleveland means a lot more and he deserves huge credit for that.
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Re: Jerry West building Warrior dynasty(this should hurt Lak

Postby KobeMVP888 » Thu Jul 07, 2016 7:43 am

Good for Jerry West. I'm happy for him and not the least bit "hurt" by it. It's not our time and organizations make sacrifices for success. The sacrifice that JERRY BUSS made was bringing in Philip Douglas Jackson at the expense of Jerry West. Jerry West was not a part of Phil Jackson's world. Then he left for Memphis and turned them around forever. But let's make no mistake, this was Jerry Buss's choice and ultimately his "fault." Lakers fans like to put Dr. Buss on a pedestal and view him as someone who could do no wrong. While being the greatest sports owner in North American sports history, at the same time he made a lot of mistakes and had a ton of good luck. So let's celebrate Jerry West's success, especially at the age of 78. He was a tortured soul, but is an incredible human being and arguably the greatest basketball mind in history. And he will always be a Laker no matter what. God bless him.
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Re: Jerry West building Warrior dynasty(this should hurt Lak

Postby lakerevolution » Thu Jul 07, 2016 8:30 pm

Test-tube baby Warrior fans are realizing the effect (West, Luke Walton, Mychal/Klay Thompson, McAdoo, etc. including Tyronn Lue!) the Lakers - who they call "Fakers" - have had on the fortunes of their team.

They have TWO titles in 41 years.
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Re: Jerry West building Warrior dynasty(this should hurt Lak

Postby 3Peatkb24 » Thu Jul 07, 2016 9:07 pm

lakerevolution wrote:Test-tube baby Warrior fans are realizing the effect (West, Luke Walton, Mychal/Klay Thompson, McAdoo, etc. including Tyronn Lue!) the Lakers - who they call "Fakers" - have had on the fortunes of their team.

They have TWO titles in 41 years.


About to be 3 in 42 years. Unless an injury happens to Curry, Durant, Klay, or Green no way they lose. I would rather see them win anyway than have LeBron reel off 2 or 3 more Championships.
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Re: Jerry West building Warrior dynasty(this should hurt Lak

Postby Lakers4Life » Thu Jul 07, 2016 10:19 pm

KobeMVP888 wrote:Good for Jerry West. I'm happy for him and not the least bit "hurt" by it. It's not our time and organizations make sacrifices for success. The sacrifice that JERRY BUSS made was bringing in Philip Douglas Jackson at the expense of Jerry West. Jerry West was not a part of Phil Jackson's world. Then he left for Memphis and turned them around forever. But let's make no mistake, this was Jerry Buss's choice and ultimately his "fault." Lakers fans like to put Dr. Buss on a pedestal and view him as someone who could do no wrong. While being the greatest sports owner in North American sports history, at the same time he made a lot of mistakes and had a ton of good luck. So let's celebrate Jerry West's success, especially at the age of 78. He was a tortured soul, but is an incredible human being and arguably the greatest basketball mind in history. And he will always be a Laker no matter what. God bless him.


Although this is a very good post, I think that it's definitely a shame and disappointment that Jerry West isn't somehow still a part of our organization. Jerry Buss was great at surrounding himself with great Lakers from our history. Yes Phil Jackson was the right choice at that time from 2000-2004. But it's time for West to come home.
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Re: Jerry West building Warrior dynasty(this should hurt Lak

Postby KobeMVP888 » Thu Jul 07, 2016 10:23 pm

Lakers4Life wrote:
KobeMVP888 wrote:Good for Jerry West. I'm happy for him and not the least bit "hurt" by it. It's not our time and organizations make sacrifices for success. The sacrifice that JERRY BUSS made was bringing in Philip Douglas Jackson at the expense of Jerry West. Jerry West was not a part of Phil Jackson's world. Then he left for Memphis and turned them around forever. But let's make no mistake, this was Jerry Buss's choice and ultimately his "fault." Lakers fans like to put Dr. Buss on a pedestal and view him as someone who could do no wrong. While being the greatest sports owner in North American sports history, at the same time he made a lot of mistakes and had a ton of good luck. So let's celebrate Jerry West's success, especially at the age of 78. He was a tortured soul, but is an incredible human being and arguably the greatest basketball mind in history. And he will always be a Laker no matter what. God bless him.


Although this is a very good post, I think that it's definitely a shame and disappointment that Jerry West isn't somehow still a part of our organization. Jerry Buss was great at surrounding himself with great Lakers from our history. Yes Phil Jackson was the right choice at that time from 2000-2004. But it's time for West to come home.


As long as the Buss family owns the Lakers, especially with Jeanie as the President, that will never happen. It's the price we paid to get Phil and the 5 chips. So all I can do is feel good for Jerry West and just like Riley in Miami, the Lakers tree continues to reign the NBA!
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Re: Jerry West building Warrior dynasty(this should hurt Lak

Postby lakerevolution » Thu Jul 07, 2016 11:12 pm

3Peatkb24 wrote:
lakerevolution wrote:Test-tube baby Warrior fans are realizing the effect (West, Luke Walton, Mychal/Klay Thompson, McAdoo, etc. including Tyronn Lue!) the Lakers - who they call "Fakers" - have had on the fortunes of their team.

They have TWO titles in 41 years.


About to be 3 in 42 years. Unless an injury happens to Curry, Durant, Klay, or Green no way they lose. I would rather see them win anyway than have LeBron reel off 2 or 3 more Championships.


Oh are you Madam Cleo or Nostradamus? Those expected to win rarely do. How easy was it for us to repeat from 80 to 86? Only Pat's bold statement at the 87 parade spurred the team on, and we had to survive three straight game 7s to get a Sweet Repeat, the last one only coming thanks to Zeke's sprained ankle, two epic FTs by The Cap and a last-second layup by All-Christian Green.

The Warriors choked big-time in dropping this chance to repeat and until they win 16 playoff games, nothing is guaranteed. I have no more animosity towards LeBron, let him get another one and cement his legend. Doesn't make or break what the Lakers are doing.
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Re: Jerry West building Warrior dynasty(this should hurt Lak

Postby 3Peatkb24 » Fri Jul 08, 2016 12:31 am

lakerevolution wrote:
3Peatkb24 wrote:
lakerevolution wrote:Test-tube baby Warrior fans are realizing the effect (West, Luke Walton, Mychal/Klay Thompson, McAdoo, etc. including Tyronn Lue!) the Lakers - who they call "Fakers" - have had on the fortunes of their team.

They have TWO titles in 41 years.


About to be 3 in 42 years. Unless an injury happens to Curry, Durant, Klay, or Green no way they lose. I would rather see them win anyway than have LeBron reel off 2 or 3 more Championships.


Oh are you Madam Cleo or Nostradamus? Those expected to win rarely do. How easy was it for us to repeat from 80 to 86? Only Pat's bold statement at the 87 parade spurred the team on, and we had to survive three straight game 7s to get a Sweet Repeat, the last one only coming thanks to Zeke's sprained ankle, two epic FTs by The Cap and a last-second layup by All-Christian Green.

The Warriors choked big-time in dropping this chance to repeat and until they win 16 playoff games, nothing is guaranteed. I have no more animosity towards LeBron, let him get another one and cement his legend. Doesn't make or break what the Lakers are doing.


Yes and thank God we won in 1988 and 2010 after watching the Warriors lose Game 7 at home. We came close to losing in both of those years so we should be thankful. Having said that I don't want LeBron to win anymore, every Tom, Dick, and Harry already have him rated higher then Kobe on ESPN and the NBA Channel and people that Post over at EPSN in general think LeBron is best thing since slice bread. Other than Lakers fans, everyone thinks LeBron is better than Kobe on almost every website. A lot thought that crap before he even won this last Championship. It's Durant's turn and I am for it. If LeBron only ends up with 3 Championships he cant be rated higher than Jordan, Magic, or Kobe IMO because all of those guys have MVP's and Finals MVP's as well and dominated. All 3 also didn't Ring chase to win those Rings. LeBron technically has 1 Ring that should really count. He won the other 2 because he joined Wade and everyone knows it.
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