The Los Angeles Lakers made the biggest splash in free agency with the signing of small forward LeBron James. The move solidified a promising start for the front office duo of Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka.
However, L.A. Clippers front office executive Jerry West does not think that the Lakers had to campaign very hard to acquire James' services. According to Jack McCallum of Sports Illustrated, West feels the writing has been on the wall for some time now:
“All due respect to the Lakers, who handled everything well,” said West, “but, as these things go, LeBron was not a tough free-agent signing. LeBron wanted to come to L.A. and he wanted to come to the Lakers. Period. He has a family he’s thinking about. He has a home here. [Actually two homes.] He has a son [13-year-old “Bronny” Jr.] whom he wants to keep in one school in Los Angeles. He will be a celebrity out here, sure, but it’s a place where, once in a while, he can get lost, be himself. You can’t do that everywhere.”
It may appear as though West is trying to downplay the Lakers' biggest free agent signing in the last decade. However, there is certainly plenty of truth to his comments.
There has long been speculation about James potentially coming to Los Angeles. His off-court endeavors paired with rumors about his son's enrollment in high school made Los Angeles an ideal fit for the next phase of his career. Furthermore, West has had plenty of experience with using the team's selling points as one of their former front office executives. He is credited with bringing in essentially every Laker great in franchise history. That said, James is just the next man up.
West will now have to find a way to work his magic for the Clippers franchise. Although the team lacks the mystique of their neighbors, perhaps he can find a way to incorporate everything else Los Angeles has to offer to the next batch of star players.
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