According to the LA Times’ Andrew Greif, the LA Clippers have agreed to bring front office consultant Jerry West back for another season.
Legendary player and executive Jerry West will return to the LA Clippers next season, according to a report from the LA Times‘ Andrew Greif. Per the report, he’ll keep the same role he’s had with the organization since he hopped aboard in June 2017.
This is obviously an enormous win for the Clippers, a franchise that has seen nothing but front office success since Steve Ballmer became the new owner of the team in 2014. West’s name hasn’t been directly attached to many of the Clippers’ moves since he agreed to join the team, but it’s clear that he’s influenced most of the decisions made during that period of time.
In his report, Greif also notes that this isn’t the first major offseason victory that the Clippers have had this year, either.
Last month, General Manager Michael Winger was pursued by the Minnesota Timberwolves in hopes of naming him as their new President of Basketball Operations. However, not long after news broke that he’d be among those to interview for the position, Winger declined the position before ever hearing Minnesota’s pitch.
Soon after, Winger’s assistant, Trent Redden, agreed to stay with the Clippers, turning down a chance to become the New Orleans Pelicans’ General Manager — a position that’s looking very nice right about now, as the Pelicans will be able to select Zion Williamson in this year’s draft after winning Tuesday night’s Draft Lottery.
It’s an unusual — but very welcome — change of pace for the Clippers, since the franchise struggled to hang on to players and executives alike for some time.
As the Clippers prepare for what could be one of the biggest summers in franchise history, this news couldn’t have come at a better time, either.
With the ability to sign as many as two max-level players once free agency rolls around in July (and a chance to trade for another), the LA Clippers could completely flip the narrative that’s followed their franchise as long as they’ve been around. And with West staying in the building, the team has to feel better about their odds of pulling off such historic moves.
There’s no telling if Jerry West will stay with the LA Clippers beyond the upcoming season, but if the team does manage to land a superstar or two this summer, he’ll certainly be owed a lot of the credit.