The name Jerry West is synonymous with winning. In 1959 West led West Virginia University to their first NCAA Final Four appearance in school history. West spent his entire 14-year NBA playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers where he was a 14-time NBA All-Star and he also helped Los Angeles win the NBA Championship in 1972. West’s image is also emblazoned as the NBA’s logo. In 1976 West transitioned to life after playing basketball as he became the head coach of the Lakers and he held the post for three seasons. But West would cement his NBA legacy in 1982 when he became the Lakers general manager. For two decades West would oversee a Laker organization that would win eight NBA Championships under his watch. As Lakers general manager West would draft the likes of a Basketball Hall of Famer in forward James Worthy while also trading for shooting guard Kobe Bryant and signing free agent center Shaquille O’Neal. In 2002, West would leave the Lakers to become the general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies and by 2004 the franchise would make its first playoff appearance. West would step down as Grizzlies general manager in 2007, but he couldn’t stay away from the game of basketball. In 2011 West was hired by the Golden State Warriors as a consultant with a minority ownership stake in the club. West has kept a low profile with the Warriors until recently.
For the first time since the early 1990’s, the Warriors are coming off of consecutive seasons that resulted in trips to the NBA Playoffs. After being eliminated by the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs this past spring, the Warriors had a bit of a shakeup. Despite coming off of a 51-win regular season campaign, Mark Jackson was fired as Warriors head coach and he has been replaced by Steve Kerr. Jackson always didn’t see eye-to-eye with West and Warriors general manager Bob Myers which led to his dismissal. Recently the Warriors have been rumored to be in the running to acquire power forward Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves. But West put his foot down when he deemed the price to high to get Love.
The Timberwolves were willing to part with Love if the Warriors would send shooting guard Klay Thompson, power forward David Lee, and a first-round pick to Minnesota. The Timberwolves would also throw shooting guard Kevin Martin into the deal. But you cannot blame West and Kerr for rejecting the trade.
The Warriors used the 11th overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft on Thompson who is blossoming into one of the better shooting guards in the Western Conference. In each season Thompson has increased his production as he is coming off of campaign where he averaged 18.4 points and he is the perfect compliment in the Warriors backcourt to point guard Steph Curry. Since joining the Warriors four year ago, Lee has blossomed into one of the better power forwards in the NBA. In his four seasons with Golden State, Lee has averaged 18.2 points and 10 rebounds per game. Lee’s game fits with the Warriors due to the fact that he doesn’t need a play to be called for him in order to be effective and he won’t take the basketball out of the hands of Curry or Thompson.
Throughout his career as an NBA executive, West has been one of the best talent evaluators and if there was one person in the realm of basketball that their words are poetic; it is definitely West.
In spite of the fact that the Warriors have a new head coach in Kerr, this is a team that is more than capable of winning an NBA Championship right now. As good as Love has been and as good as he could be with Curry, the Warriors cannot afford to part with Thompson. I can understand Lee being a part of any proposed deal to acquire Love due to the fact that it would be tough to justify having two All-Star caliber power forwards like them on the the same roster.
If West had never ventured into the world of basketball he could have been a good stock broker because he buys low and sells high. The clock is ticking for the Timbewolves due to the fact that they need to find a trade partner to ship Love to. Love is entering the final year of his deal and with the NBA Draft only a few days away, the time is now to get a deal done in order to get something worthwhile back for him. If the Timberwolves continue to play hardball, West and the Warriors could sneak in the back door at the 11th hour and come away smelling like a rose as they wouldn’t have to give up that much to get Love while West once again would look like a genius.
Source: Basketball-reference.com
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