UPDATE 12:37 pm: It’s official according to CSN Bay Area, the Warriors have confirmed that Jerry West has joined the organization, with the title of “executive board member.” Consultant is still the best term to understand the role.
West can be a strong and persuasive voice, but he also is deft at the politics of the game. He will not step on Larry Riley’s toes and will stand in line with the company publicly. But he is about as straight a shooter as there is out there and there will be no doubt in the organization what West is thinking.
This is a great hire for Golden State.
8:01 am: Jerry West, the legendary Laker general manager from the Showtime era who also spent time in Memphis, is now going to be consulting with the Golden State Warriors.
That’s what Tim Kawakami wrote at the San Jose Mercury News.West’s exact title has not yet been formalized, but he is expected to be reporting to co-owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber and possibly act as a sounding board in many areas.
The addition of an icon like West is another aggressive and surprising move by Lacob, who brought in agent Bob Myers last month as his GM-apparent.
He’ll be a consultant, basically. Larry Riley is the GM and Meyers will get the gig in a few years.
But it’s a wise move by the owner to have another voice in his ear, especially one with a good eye for talent. (Remember West got Kobe Bryant out of high school, put good role players around Magic and Kareem, and when in Memphis made sure they got Marc Gasol in a deal everyone thought was bad at the time but turned out to be decent.)
Joe Lacob has shown to be hands on as an owner on the basketball side. That can be worrisome. But if he is bringing in smart people around him like West and listening to them, he’ll be fine.