Getty Jerry West with A.C. Green & Rick Fox.
2020 has been a year full of unexpected developments and we might have another big one on our hands. Right now, the Los Angeles Clippers could be in trouble with the NBA due to Jerry West allegedly shortchanging a man who supposedly helped the team land Kawhi Leonard. It’s still early in the legal process so the situation is very fluid.
However, a potential bombshell was recently dropped by TMZ Sports. They have acquired a voicemail that was allegedly left by West. In the voicemail, the voice believed to belong to the Los Angeles Lakers legend says some very damning things about his former team.
“I just find it hard to believe that [Kawhi] would want to go to that s*** show where he would not even be … wouldn’t even get his name in the paper and he wouldn’t be the face of the franchise that’s for sure,” West allegedly said on the call.
“He might be the best player on the team, but hope things are well and again, I really really appreciate everything you’ve done.”
Alleged voicemail of Jerry West from Johnny Wilkes calling the Lakers a “sh*t show.”
It remains to be seen what the legal ramifications of the voicemail could be but there’s no doubt that this will hurt West’s standing with the Lakers and their fan base if that is his voice.
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Why Would West Rip His Former Team?
Part of the reason the Lakers are such a legendary franchise is because of what West did for the team as a player and then years later as an executive. He was the man who brought Kobe Bryant to the team. If it’s actually him, it certainly has to be disappointing for the team to hear someone so respected within the organization say such critical things.
That said, West shouldn’t take too much heat. Prior to this past season, there were plenty of fans and pundits using strong words to describe the Lakers. Also, if the voicemail was left by West, it was obviously used as a recruiting tactic to help the team that employs him. He has no reason to try and help the Lakers right now and he can use dirty tactics if he wants.
West Was Obviously Way off Base
In hindsight, this alleged voicemail by West is hilarious. The Lakers proved a lot of people wrong last season and won a championship. What happened to the Clippers? They lost in the second round of the playoffs to a young Denver Nuggets team. Things were so bad for them that they had to fire their head coach and numerous reports came out about how much of a mess the team was last season.
The Clippers look a lot closer to a disaster of a franchise than the Lakers do. In fact, the purple and gold are widely considered the favorites to repeat as champions. West is one of the best basketball minds in the history of the NBA but he was clearly way off base with his alleged assessment of the Lakers last offseason.
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