[h1]Hall of Famer Jerry West brings 'brutally honest' voice to Golden State Warriors[/h1]
The day after being introduced as a Warriors consultant, and insisting that he was nothing more than an "adviser," Jerry West sat in a Santa Monica gym scouting draft prospects.
By the following week, the Warriors' coaching search had taken a surprising turn to San Antonio assistant Mike Budenholzer -- an under-the-radar name who just so happens to carry the West seal of approval.
So while West's exact role in the Golden State hierarchy remains fuzzy, this much already is clear: The Warriors are all ears.
"I'm encouraging them to be aggressive," said West, a Hall of Famer who won seven NBA titles as a Lakers player and executive. "They have to be proactive. They can't think like in the past. And I'm not shy about telling them that."
West, 73, wants to make something else clear. All he's providing is opinions. General manager Larry Riley and G.M.-in-waiting Bob Myers are running the Warriors show.
"I am not the decision-maker," West said last week from his Southern California home. "I am not the face of the franchise. I know if I get involved, I'm going to get too involved. And I'm not going to be someone who makes myself crazy like I used to. I can't be that person any more."
West is famous for being driven to perfection. But he couldn't resist the chance to work with Warriors owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber and believes he can help without shouldering the burden of franchise savior.
Mitch Kupchak, the Los Angeles Lakers general manager and longtime West protege, says this is the perfect job for West at this stage of his life. He also has one word to describe the addition of West to the Warriors' front office.
"Genius," Kupchak said. "It was a genius move. Jerry doesn't want to be in the trenches, talking to agents, and doing day-to-day stuff that drives you crazy in this business. Larry and Bob will do that. But Jerry's brutally honest, and they're going to get that from him."
Already the Warriors have heard from West about their roster, the upcoming draft and what they should be seeking in a new coach.
Although West declines to reveal specifics, his voice bubbles when describing the Warriors as a team a few moves away from playoff contention.
"The culture of that team can be changed immediately," he said.
West's arrival brings instant credibility to an organization that has made just one playoff appearance since 1994 and is coming off a 36-46 season.
As a clutch-shooting guard, West led the Lakers to the finals nine times in his 14 seasons. (He won only one title.) As a shrewd executive, he helped orchestrate the Lakers' Showtime era of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He rebuilt the team in the 1990s around Nick Van Exel and Vlade Divac.
Then he boldly blew it all up with a dramatic roll of the dice in 1996 when he landed a teenager named Kobe Bryant and cleared cap space on the hope he could lure Shaquille O'Neal from Orlando.
In 2002, West gambled again, agreeing to attempt an extreme makeover of woebegone Memphis. In two seasons the Grizzlies went from 23 victories to 50 and made their first playoff appearance. No small credit went to West's outside-the-box moves, such as bringing broadcaster Hubie Brown out of retirement to coach.
West might be a genius, but it comes at a heavy cost. There's a reason he titled his forthcoming autobiography: "West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life."
West has come to view his boundless energy as a curse as much as a blessing. Relentlessly driven, he has lost many nights' sleep due to a racing mind. He has cried after trading players he liked, including Van Exel.
Even though West turned the Kobe-Shaq Lakers into a juggernaut, he often went to extreme lengths to avoid watching the games.
"I would do the craziest things, like go to the movies," said West, who has referred to his mindset as a sickness. "I would tape the games but wouldn't watch if someone told me we lost. It was almost a protection against myself. It made me insane at times, and that's not what I wanted for my life."
When the Lakers won their last title under his reign in 2000, he was on the freeway heading to Santa Barbara. He learned L.A. had beaten Indiana only when someone called to congratulate him.
Two years into retirement, he decided to try it all again, running the Memphis basketball operations. West called it his happiest time in basketball. It included his second NBA Executive of the Year award. But the Grizzlies never won a playoff game in his five seasons, and West had become frustrated with ownership's direction by the end and retired again in 2007.
He fed his basketball habit by talking with friends around the league and viewing games on television.
"My wife will be in one room watching 'Dancing with the Stars' or 'Desperate Housewives,' and I'm in another watching games," he said.
Then, the Warriors called about a chance to get back in the game.
West said he spent a month considering the offer, which includes an ownership stake. Friends encouraged him to take it. His wife, Karen, who initially was on the fence, could sense his excitement.
"She said I hadn't been this enthusiastic in a while," West said. "I finally said, 'What the hell.' It feels good to be involved with something again that's been a part of my life since I was 9 years old. Basketball is the most important thing to ever happen to me."
And West could be the most important thing to happen to the Warriors in years.
Andy Dolich, the longtime Bay Area sports executive who ran the Memphis business operation, is not surprised West is back. When Lacob and Guber bought the team from Chris Cohan in 2010, Dolich told West that he should be their first hire.
"Jerry is fearless," Dolich said. "He immediately became the most competitive person in the organization. Competition is what drives him, and it's important that people in the Warriors understand who Jerry is.
"If they give him latitude, that team should start getting to the playoffs. But if he feels like he's not allowed to use his opinions, knowledge and energy, then it probably will be a short-term experiment."
The Warriors could provide West more chances to demonstrate his remarkable vision. It's something that former Golden State coach Eric Musselman witnessed firsthand.
"I saw him the morning after he took a private plane down to Jackson, Miss., to watch Monta Ellis as a high school player, and he told me, 'I just saw a future All-Star,' " said Musselman, then a Memphis assistant. "I was thinking, 'How could you even project that?' "
The Grizzlies passed on selecting Ellis -- a decision West regrets. He still likes the Warriors' most explosive player. Yet West also talks about the small backcourt of Ellis and Stephen Curry, and the crying need for impact frontcourt players. With West the risk-taker in place -- job titles notwithstanding -- it could be an interesting few months for the Warriors.
He certainly has hit the court running. In addition to scouting players, West said he has been working the phones and has notes to himself written all around the house. "It almost seems like old times again," he said.
But, West assures, he also is taking caution not to fall into old traps.
"All I'm going to do is give my opinion," he said.
