Jerry West was a key member of the Warriors’ front office from 2011 until his somewhat surprising exit in June of this year. West was one of the first hires by owners Joe Lacob and Peter Gruber, and played a key role in a number of personnel decisions that helped Golden State transition from laughingstock to league juggernaut.
West’s contract with the Warriors was up after last season, and instead of re-signing, the Hall of Famer elected to join the Los Angeles Clippers’ front office, and move that many found surprising. West spoke about leaving the Warriors with Tim Kawakami of The Athletic on Monday in a wide-ranging conversation. While he didn’t exactly go into the specifics of why he felt he had to leave Golden State, West admitted he would’ve preferred to stay.
“Frankly it was very sad, OK? It really was,” West told Kawakami. “A place where I thought that if I was going to work another year or if somebody wanted me to work another year, I thought I could contribute; I did not want to leave. I did not want to leave. I was very happy there. But those things happen sometimes. Obviously to be around a bunch of players that were as together as any I’ve seen and I think more importantly the talent that was on that team and to see the joy. There’s a lot of joy there. I think those are the kind of environments where people really prosper.
“It was time for me to leave. I’m in Los Angeles again. For me, I’ll have a chance to go in the office a little bit and watch some of the people that have been hired, to watch our coaches coach. I’ve often said I’ve done some crazy things in my life because of the timing and maybe the timing was right.”
West also commented on the Warriors’ new area in San Francisco that is scheduled to open for the 2019-20 season, and said that while he thinks it will be spectacular, he won’t be attending a game there.
“I will never go into that arena. I shouldn’t go into it,” West said. “But I think it’s going to be … I’ve seen the plans, and it’s spectacular. A lot of creative thinking has gone on with that organization.
“I think for the people who want the best, they’re going to get it. It’ll be filled with a hopefully a great team for a few years.”