Jerry West brings improvement and victories to wherever he goes. As an executive with the Lakers, Grizzlies and now the Warriors, it’s tough not to recognize his eye for basketball and his passion for winning.
It was reported that one of the biggest influences on Kevin Durant’s decision to join the Warriors was a phone call from the logo himself, and him explaining his experience of being haunted by the years of not winning. Durant felt Jerry related to how he felt inside, what he really found himself coming to grips with, and how it really was time to leave the team who drafted him.
West, aka The Logo, aka Mr. Clutch, is most famously known as a Lakers employee, in one capacity or another. His name lives in infamy as a player and an executive. He was the one who convinced Shaq to leave the Magic to become a Laker, and he identified Kobe Bryant as a player Los Angeles need to acquire.
Now he is a consultant for the Warriors. The culture has certainly taken a turn around since he began working there, and it begs the question, why haven't the Lakers tried to bring West back? With the state they’re in, he’s the perfect man for the job.
Influence – Jim Buss is adamant about putting his own stamp on the team, and in no way will he allow West’s presence to overshadow what he’s trying to build. It’s all within his rights, and this is no longer the 80's or 90’s.
Jim doesn’t want West back, even as a consultant, fearing that Jerry will finish off his own fading influence.
Jeanie Buss – Loves Phil Jackson and would love to have him in place to help run the ship, as he’s currently doing in New York. A conflict between Jackson and West caused the ultimate split to begin with back in 2000, because West saw the league getting faster and more athletic, while Jackson felt triangle players were the proven asset. Management sided with what was working at the time, and West had enough of the constant pressure to win.
His biggest obstacle is with the vision of ownership. They want to see their own patch to glory come to fruition, and West, who is a sharp, competitive executive level basketball mind, won’t be swayed by games and favoritism.
He had a great relationship with Dr. Jerry Buss, but he left it all to get away from the constant stress and drama unfolding on what the next move was for the team in the future.
Looking back, West should have been made honorary part owner, or Dr. Buss' right hand man, because of his contribution and influence with the team, his reputation around the NBA, and his plain old knack for getting the job done. His influence in Los Angeles was limitless. The day where the Lakers have problems getting high profile free agents to even meet with them, let alone sign, is here, but with West, that would certainly not be the case.
The biggest problem with not having Jerry West not being in LA is the fact that, they haven’t asked him. Once he left, their immediate plans to do whatever else began working, but now it's come to a major stop.
Imagine him being back, imagine if he called Durant on behalf of the Lakers to sell him on brining glory back to one of the league's most glamorous franchises. His name would’ve netted a meeting at least, where as now they couldn’t get a pitch to him by email.
We see what West can do in a consultant role; imagine what he could do with his influence in Los Angeles.
And apparently he's open to it; according to Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Daily News, West would listen if the Lakers called, and he'd love to be asked to come back.
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