For 40 years, Jerry West only knew the Los Angeles Lakers colors as a player, coach, and front-office executive. He won seven championships until his departure in 2002. But even after giving his all to the franchise for four decades, The Logo left with a hole in his heart because of a long-standing beef that lasted until his death on June 12, 2024.
In a recent article, ESPN's Baxter Holmes revealed West's true feelings about the Lakers, and they weren't flattering. Holmes also shed light on the alleged reasons why the Purple and Gold decided to part ways with the man who had been "Mr. Laker" for most of his life.
West wished he wasn't a Laker
You know it cuts deep when someone is willing to erase four decades of memories, especially if these memories shaped who you are. For the NBA legend, that's exactly how he felt when he sensed his relationship with the Lakers came to a point of no return.
"I almost wish that I had never played or worked for them," West opened up .
West publicly expressed that sentiment years ago when he spoke about the Lakers' feud in 2022 and told The Athletic's Sam Amick.
"At the end of the day, when I look back, I say, 'Well, maybe I should have played somewhere else instead of with the Lakers, where someone would have at least appreciated how much you give, how much you cared,'" he added.
Jerry did wonders for the Lakers
West and the late Dr. Jerry Buss were close friends. Buss hired his namesake as a scout in 1979 and promoted him to general manager in 1982. The West Virginia native was the man behind the retooling of the "Showtime" Lakers in the 80s, got Shaquille O'Neal to sign as a free agent in 1996 and rolled the dice on a young and unproven Kobe Bryant the same year.
It was fine and dandy until West felt the Lakers needed to make a coaching change in 1999. Del Harris couldn't take the team with a prime Diesel and an up-and-coming Kobe to the promised land. Until then, Kurt Rambis served as the interim coach in the 1999 lockout-shortened season and guided Los Angeles to a semifinal appearance.
As promising as that sounded, West wasn't convinced Rambis could do any better than Harris did. So, the 1972 NBA champion convinced Dr. Buss to hire Phil Jackson, a move that supposedly "sparked friction" between Rambis and West.
Jackson then had a romantic relationship with Jeanie, Dr. Buss' daughter and the franchise's executive VP of basketball operations. This upset West, who thought there was a conflict of interest somewhere. That displeasure eventually reached Jeanie's ears and led to a bitter dispute with Phil. From there, the writing was on the wall.
Moreover, Linda Rambis, Kurt's wife, was Jeanie's close confidant and friend, so it's not totally out of left field that this dynamic had something to do with West's ouster. To everyone who didn't know what was happening inside the organization, West's team exit in 2000 was a surprise. But as soon as the conflict reached a personal level, there was no other way that thing could end.
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The Fallout
If you think getting rid of West in the facility was enough, Jeanie did more. Taking over the whole business operations after his father died in 2013, she literally excommunicated The Logo in the building. The gap was there when all that happened in 2000, but there has been a divide since then.
First, the team fired Ryan West in 2019, Jerry's son, who worked for the Lakers for ten years. The older West thought his son was collateral damage to this petty squabble. He even apologized to a "devastated" Ryan, who was promoted to Director of Player Personnel back in 2015. Then, the team revoked West and his family's lifetime season tickets in 2022. This privilege was supposed to be Dr. Buss' promise to Mr. Clutch.
"Can you believe they took my tickets away? I just can't believe it. That's about as low as you can go," West said, per the ESPN article.
The Lakers legend held out hope that this relationship with the Lakers would be repaired. Sources near him said he waited for that call when the Purple and Gold were looking for a general manager in 2019. Nothing came, and until his death, those lines of communication were forever closed.
Jeanie spoke highly of West in an Instagram post after the latter's passing. However, her actions before this unfortunate event belie what she truly felt. Sure, bad blood like this one is almost definitely a two-way street, but the Lakers leadership shouldn't have done Jerry dirty like that. The #44 patches on their jerseys were a nice tribute, but it would have meant more if The Logo had seen it while he was still alive.
Related: "Hard to argue against it" - Jerry West on Michael Jordan being labeled the GOAT in 1996
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