Jerry West Open to NBA Return

Filed under: Grizzlies, Lakers, Warriors, NBA Rumors

Jerry West, the legendary Lakers guard, may be retired as an NBA general manager. But the man who built the league's last threepeat team (the 2000-02 Lakers) wants to work again, according to an interview with NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper.



West indicates that while he's not prepared to rejoin the day-to-day grind of a general managership in the NBA, he would be open to joining the right team as a consultant. A host of teams would surely love to add him; in both GM stops (L.A. and Memphis), he built playoff teams and left the franchises better than when he found them. The Grizzlies eventually fell apart not long after West made way for Chris Wallace, but to turn what had been a sad bunch in Vancouver into a perennial playoff team was a great feat.



The issue with West will be one of the day-to-day GM's own confidence. West is a daunting figure in NBA circles; Bethlehem Shoals wrote earlier about how West's competitive streak remains pretty harsh, even as he moves further away from his playing reign. For a West consultancy to work properly, the GM running the team will need every confidence he can decline a suggestion from the Logo without being badmouthed to the owner, or without setting himself up for public embarrassment. Not to disparage West, but he has a lot of friends in the media, ones who wouldn't hesitate to help him make a public point about a GM's failings.

 

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Full story at http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/08/16/jerry-west-open-to-nba-return/