LOS ANGELES (AP) - Hall of Famer Jerry West is leaving his job as an executive board member with the NBA champion Golden State Warriors and is expected to take a similar role with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Warriors general manager Bob Myers said to NBC Sports Bay Area during Thursday’s victory parade festivities, “Jerry West, gone.” Myers had said last week he would have a discussion with West after the season, which ended in Monday’s Game 5 against Cleveland.
The 79-year-old West told ESPN he is intrigued at the prospect of working for Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, whom he calls “a winner.”
West said he would like to help Doc Rivers, the coach and president of basketball operations, and general manager Lawrence Frank. The Clippers are focused on retaining key free agents this summer, including Chris Paul.
West has been with the Warriors since 2011. The team has won two NBA titles during his time in the Bay Area.
In a recent interview with The Associated Press, West wouldn’t confirm his plans for next season.
“It’s been an amazing seven years here with the Warriors,” West told The AP. “Acquiring players is the key to any success you might have and more importantly the right kind of players. I’ve often said this stuff is like a puzzle. You can have four corners and if you don’t have the center part of the puzzle, it’s not a complete puzzle. This team has been three incredible years, the right age for players to play more. So it should be successful barring any unforeseen incident. I would anticipate we’re going to be pretty good here for a few more years.”
West’s former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Elgin Baylor spent 22 years as general manager of the Clippers before being let go in 2008.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball
Please read our comment policy before commenting.