Staying West But Headed North

Known for his playing days, West
was also a great talent evaluator.

The Golden State Warriors have been competing with the rivals down the coast, the Los Angeles Lakers for years and that continued Friday afternoon. Golden State has brought former legendary Laker guard and Executive Jerry West on board to over see the day-to-day operations of the club. With this move the Warriors are making a commitment to excellence with one of the all-time NBA greats.

    West was a fourteen-time All-Star for the Lakers during his career, and is one of only seven members in NBA history to be named to the All-Star team every year in the league. West appeared in nine NBA Finals, but only once in 1972. He was also the franchises all-time leading scoring before current Laker guard Kobe Bryant surpassed his mark of 25,192 last February. "Mr. Clutch" was inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979, along with his jersey number 44 being retired by the Lakers four years later in 1983.

    Of course West is known for his playing days in Los Angeles, but  has also made a name for himself in the front office for the very same city. After a brief stint coaching the Lakers, West became a consultant for the club and was apart of two NBA titles in '80 and '82 in that position. West would soon move to the front office and spend the next eighteen years as the General Manager/Executive VP of Basketball Operations.

    West if oftened credited with the success of the Lakers during his tenure in the front office. "The Logo" oversaw the drafting of Laker legends Earvin "Magic" Johnson and "Big Game" James Worthy in the early 80's laying the foundation for a historic run.

    The "Showtime" era had begun as the Los Angeles would bring home five titles in the 80's winning in '80,'82, '85, '87, and '88 with West at for the fore front of it all. The Lakers would go through a bit of a dry spell in the early 90's, but in 1995 he was named the NBA Executive of the Year.

    A year later two offseason acquisitions paved the way for West's final dynasty run with Los Angeles.

    West is responsible for the trade that sent All-Star center Vlade Divac to the New Orleans Hornets on draft night '96 for a young skinny guard out of Lower Merion High School known today as the "Black Mamba". He also signed Orlando Magic center Shaquille O'Neal in the offseason to a seven-year $121 million contract and the rest as they say is history.

    To put the icing on the cake, West hired former Chicago Bulls head coach Phil Jackson prior to the '99-'00 season to lead the Lakers back to the promise land. Jackson did just that, in his first three season in the city of angels, Jackson would win three consecutive NBA championships for the third time in his career. Following the 2002 season, West left the Lakers for a new challenge and took the general managing job of Memphis Grizzles, opening the door for his protege Mitch Kupchak to take the reigns of the team.

West is responsible for bringing both Kobe,
left and Shaq, right to the bright
lights of Hollywood.

It was a new experience for West after accumulating so much success with Los Angeles not only as an executive, but also as a player. West would win his second Executive of the Year award in 2004 after head coach Hubie Brown led Memphis to a postseason berth. Shortly there after West would retire as the general manager in Memphis closing the book on his executive career, or so we thought.

    The terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed and to what extent West will be involved with the team, but either way the Warriors have seemingly struck gold. Now 72, West continues to be a true gentlemen of the game and you will never meet a more humble individual for the type of resume West has constructed over his career.

    No matter were West finds himself in the future, he will forever bleed purple and gold.