Jerry West: ‘I never thought I'd work anywhere else again'

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Jerry West joined the Warriors in May 2011.

On Monday, he officially joined the Clippers.

During his introductory press conference in Los Angeles, he took some time to praise the Warriors.

"I will say one thing about that team: Forget about how great they are as players, this is without a doubt -- in all my years in my life -- I have never been around a nicer group of people in my life."

The Clippers will pay The Logo between $4 and 5 million annually, according to USA Today Sports' Sam Amick.

West, who turned 79 on May 28, said that his role with the Clippers will be the last "adventure" of his life.

He didn't think it would happen.

"It took me a few days to get over the shock of 'I never thought I'd work anywhere else again,'" West told reporters. "I think sometimes you look in the mirror and you have to say to yourself, 'My goodness, what more is there to do?'

Although West will now be competing against the Warriors, he isn't going to just stop communicating with people who work for Golden State.

"I'll miss Jerry ... I'll still talk to him," Warriors GM Bob Myers said on Monday afternoon. "So it's not as if he was here and now I can't see him or talk to him. So that makes me feel good.

"For him, it's a great new challenge ... his presence, his personality, his competitiveness, his passion -- for those that know him or have been around him -- it's unique."

"I love challenges, I love to do it behind the scenes, I love to be involved with people who love to win."

West has done a whole lot of winning in his life, and in order to win another championship, he'' have to go through the Warriors to get there.

A challenge indeed...

Drew Shiller is the co-host of Warriors Outsiders and a Web Producer at NBC Sports Bay Area. Follow him on Twitter @DrewShiller

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