A video mash-up of an interview of Los Angeles Clippers executive board member Jerry West as part of The Stephen A. Smith Show on ESPN Radio and several clips of Lakers president Magic Johnson's interviews provides quite the contrast of how these teams, bonded by the same locale, have fared this season.
West, who is more of a behind-the-scenes personality, despite being a Hall of Famer and having the NBA bear his very silhouette as the logo, had predicted how the signing of LeBron James would go before the season, anticipating the series of mistakes Johnson would later make upon constructing his roster.
“LeBron James, the way he plays the game — he's most effective when he has the ball in his hands, that's when he's a genius,” said West. “Now they went out and tried to get some players to complement him, but along the way, some of these guys haven't shot the ball real well and as you're well aware, the 3-point line is so vital in today's game — and if there's any disappointment to me is watching them shoot the ball.”
Jerry West vs. Magic Johnson pic.twitter.com/Nl5T7Lt3Vg
— pickuphoop (@pickuphoop) March 21, 2019
Johnson, meanwhile, told the press that he wouldn't want the Lakers to run with James as the focal point, hoping to avoid becoming another Cleveland. He later addressed the same concerns West had during his ESPN interview.
“Everybody is saying the Lakers don't have shooting, oh we got shooting,” Johnson told Chauncey Billups and Mark Jones during a Summer League game.
The Lakers are the second-worst 3-point shooting team in the league today (33.1 percent) and also the second-worst free-throw shooting team in the NBA — a combination that has led to their demise.
“If you're not making threes, you're gonna have a lot of run-outs, Stephen, and they're gonna be layups,” said West to the host. “And that's hard to defend in a spread court with the enormous talent these kids have today and the enormous ball-handling ability these kids have today. Making 3-point shots is crucial.”
Johnson argued that he based his roster on the previous postseason, pointing to the Philadelphia 76ers' and Houston Rockets' playoff shooting woes, opting to bring in “tough guys” instead that could play alongside James. Notably, the Lakers Hall of Famer brought in Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, Michael Beasley and JaVale McGee — all non-shooters.
“See, I watched every (playoff) series, so I built this team based on what happened in the playoffs,” Johnson told Billups and Jones.
West then gave a piece of wisdom, not only from his time as a former player, but from his storied history as an executive in the NBA.
“The people who succeed in this league are the people who don't talk very much,” said West. “I don't believe you promise your fans anything. Promise them you're going to work as hard as you can and more importantly is to deliver in that promise.”
West's wisdom was interjected with a Johnson interview in the MLB Network, promising to land another superstar free agent next summer — something that looks unlikely to happen, by the scent of recent events.
Johnson's boisterous style bodes well in a big city, high-fiving the likes of Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz, yet it is West's rather reserved style of front office handling that has gotten the results, as the Clippers hold a strong seventh seed at 42-30, even after trading their main scorer prior to the deadline.
Yet West refuses to give himself any credit.
“Stephen, you certainly give me too much credit,” a humble West told Smith. “I'm just a voice. Even though I'm not uncomfortable giving my opinion.”
That display of humility is a stark contrast to the way Johnson has handled his interviews and approached the naysayers during press conferences. He has laughed his way to the bank, in every sense of that phrase, and he continues to do so as you read this very sentence.
“Do you know how many Finals I've been in?,” asked Johnson during a press conference this season. “So you think I'm worried about this? (laughs). I've played against Larry Bird in The Finals, I mean, c'mon man. I've been in nine Finals. I've been in the NCAA championship. I'm Magic Johnson.”
It's that same arrogant approach that has led Johnson, with full autonomy given to him by controlling-owner Jeanie Buss, to make a series of mistakes building this team — from a lack of urgency trying to acquire Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, believing they will come on their own, to poor free agency contracts, to the Anthony Davis fiasco that now has most of the team's young players irate at their disposability.
Meanwhile, West and the rest of the front office have done a masterful job at overachieving and getting in the thick of a playoff race. They're putting themselves in position to sign two max free agents with the respect of having structure in place under a tenured coach in Doc Rivers and the guidance of a longtime front-office pro in West, who lets his moves do the talking, instead of his words.
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