Magic Johnson, Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers have their sights set on Thursday and the 2017 NBA Draft. The Lakers have been active this past week with the circulating pre-draft rumors, but the announcement of Lakers legend Jerry West signing with the Los Angeles Clippers seems to have blindsided the NBA.
West has slowly turned from respected NBA legend to front office guru, venturing off to different organizations in order to help them prosper. His work with the Lakers was his foundational base for other opportunities, as he just completed his successful stint with the Golden State Warriors.
The Clippers held their introductory press conference regarding West’s hire as a consultant on Monday, allowing ‘The Logo’ to give his reasoning behind his new decision. While many would expect West to ponder returning to the rebuilding Lakers, the 1968-69 Finals MVP stated that it just wasn’t meant to be, via Bill Oram of the OC Register:
Jerry West said a return to the Lakers "was not meant to be" and that he holds "no animosity to the Lakers at all."
— Bill Oram (@billoram) June 19, 2017
In a rather respectful move, West paid respect to the Lakers and stated that no bad blood existed. Many fans became distraught around the news of West joining the rival Clippers. However, West urged the fans to put any hateful rumors to rest:
West: "Earvin Johnson I admire a lot. I want him to do well. … Honestly I think the fans have just put it to rest. Enough is enough, OK?"
— Bill Oram (@billoram) June 19, 2017
Rumors in early June stated that the 12-time All-NBA point guard wanted to rejoin the organization, but the likelihood of that took a hit following Johnson’s newfound role.
It is also important to note that Jerry’s son, Ryan West, still remains in the Lakers organization, as a clever basketball mind that Pelinka and Johnson respect. However, it seems possible that Ryan may end up joining his father and the Clippers. Ryan currently resides as the assistant general manager and was described as a significant part of the new regime.