Jerry West the Genius

His resume as an executive is just as impressive as his resume as a player, which is an amazing accomplishment. 

But instead of being wowed by how good he is at his job, I’m more amazed at how horrible some of these other execs are. 

How did Elgin Baylor have a job for so long? Who thought any transaction that Billy King ever made was a good deal? WTF does Jordan think he’s doing in Charlotte? I understand that their good friends with the owners or they are the owner but at what point does someone say enough is enough. You simply cannot afford to be wrong about player evaluations year, after year, after year. It’s truly embarrassing. 

His resume as an executive is just as impressive as his resume as a player, which is an amazing accomplishment. 

But instead of being wowed by how good he is at his job, I’m more amazed at how horrible some of these other execs are. 

How did Elgin Baylor have a job for so long? Who thought any transaction that Billy King ever made was a good deal? WTF does Jordan think he’s doing in Charlotte? I understand that their good friends with the owners or they are the owner but at what point does someone say enough is enough. You simply cannot afford to be wrong about player evaluations year, after year, after year. It’s truly embarrassing. 

 I never considered these accomplishments but I think this adds reason to keep him as the NBA logo.

 I never considered these accomplishments but I think this adds reason to keep him as the NBA logo.

Jerry West is probably the best executive ever. In any sport. And this Warriors team may be his most impressive work yet.

Jerry West is probably the best executive ever. In any sport. And this Warriors team may be his most impressive work yet.

 Jerry is the best. Not sure who’s 2nd. Even his son isn’t too bad: he grabbed Clarkson at 46th in the 2nd round, 

 Jerry is the best. Not sure who’s 2nd. Even his son isn’t too bad: he grabbed Clarkson at 46th in the 2nd round, 

 jerry west is a genius and the best no doubt about it in my mind. Although sometimes bouncing around can kind of make you look better. Magic and kareem were already in los angeles when he took over there. West joined memphis in 2002 and pau was already there. West took over the warriors 2 years after they already drafted steph. He had to do a great job building around the superstars, but the key  guys were in place before he took over.

 jerry west is a genius and the best no doubt about it in my mind. Although sometimes bouncing around can kind of make you look better. Magic and kareem were already in los angeles when he took over there. West joined memphis in 2002 and pau was already there. West took over the warriors 2 years after they already drafted steph. He had to do a great job building around the superstars, but the key  guys were in place before he took over.

  P. Riley is there somewhere with West..

  P. Riley is there somewhere with West..

 I made a post like this a few months ago and I agree.. Hes the most brillant mind the game has ever seen..

 I made a post like this a few months ago and I agree.. Hes the most brillant mind the game has ever seen..

 How west rebuilt the Lakers post magic was phenomenal, probably one of the best rebuilds ever in professional sports. After magic suddenly retired in 1991 the Lakers were stuck in NBA purgatory with an aging roster that wasnt good enough to seriously contend and wasn’t bad enough to get a high draft pick. In just a few years he completely rebuilt the team so it was stocked with young talent and would eventually lay the foundation for the shaq-kobe dynasty. And he did it all with nothing hire than a number 10 pick. 

The shaq signing and Kobe trade will go down as his biggest accomplishments in that era but consider some of the more subtle moves he made that made it possible:

Drafted vlade divac 26th in 1989 (at the time was one of the first Europeans to play a major role in the league. Was a valuable player with the Lakers and of course eventually got them Kobe)

Drafted Nick van exel 37th in 1993 (probably one of the biggest steals in draft history)

Drafted Derek Fisher 24th in 1996 ( wasn’t considered first round material by many at the time but turned into one of the best role players in NBA history)

Traded Cedric ceballos for Robert horry in 1996 ( not necessarily a popular move at the time as ceballos was they’re leading scorer the season before but horry turned out to be a perfect complementary player and was essential to their title teams)

Signed Rick fox as a free agent in 1997 (under the radar move but again netted them an outstanding role player who was a perfect fit with their championship teams)

People always get the idea that the Lakers just lucked into shaq and Kobe, got Phil Jackson to coach, and just started winning titles. However, there were a lot of things that had to fall into place for that team to happen and west deserves a large portion of the credit for it. It’s just a shame he wasn’t really still with the team to enjoy the success when it ultimately happened.

 How west rebuilt the Lakers post magic was phenomenal, probably one of the best rebuilds ever in professional sports. After magic suddenly retired in 1991 the Lakers were stuck in NBA purgatory with an aging roster that wasnt good enough to seriously contend and wasn’t bad enough to get a high draft pick. In just a few years he completely rebuilt the team so it was stocked with young talent and would eventually lay the foundation for the shaq-kobe dynasty. And he did it all with nothing hire than a number 10 pick. 

The shaq signing and Kobe trade will go down as his biggest accomplishments in that era but consider some of the more subtle moves he made that made it possible:

Drafted vlade divac 26th in 1989 (at the time was one of the first Europeans to play a major role in the league. Was a valuable player with the Lakers and of course eventually got them Kobe)

Drafted Nick van exel 37th in 1993 (probably one of the biggest steals in draft history)

Drafted Derek Fisher 24th in 1996 ( wasn’t considered first round material by many at the time but turned into one of the best role players in NBA history)

Traded Cedric ceballos for Robert horry in 1996 ( not necessarily a popular move at the time as ceballos was they’re leading scorer the season before but horry turned out to be a perfect complementary player and was essential to their title teams)

Signed Rick fox as a free agent in 1997 (under the radar move but again netted them an outstanding role player who was a perfect fit with their championship teams)

People always get the idea that the Lakers just lucked into shaq and Kobe, got Phil Jackson to coach, and just started winning titles. However, there were a lot of things that had to fall into place for that team to happen and west deserves a large portion of the credit for it. It’s just a shame he wasn’t really still with the team to enjoy the success when it ultimately happened.

 Building a team and coaching are different, so no Phil Jackson.  West, Auerbach, Popovich although all he did was inherit David Robinson and tank for Duncan and then keep it going after that, plus someone else.  Wooden is college, and getting signatures of Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton wasn’t tough as LA was where everyone wanted to be.

Maybe it is Krause, as he got everyone who was around Jordan.

Maybe Riley, for how he turned the league upside down and got the Heat LeBron and many finals.

Looks like Krause, he got Pippen from a couple of amazing deals as the pickw as from the Knicks and then he traded with Seattle, he stole Kukoc as a second rounder after trading for that pick, a steal for Oakley, Rodman for a backup center, not sure about Stacey King.

So have a GM section.  Then have NBA and college sections, and so on.

 Building a team and coaching are different, so no Phil Jackson.  West, Auerbach, Popovich although all he did was inherit David Robinson and tank for Duncan and then keep it going after that, plus someone else.  Wooden is college, and getting signatures of Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton wasn’t tough as LA was where everyone wanted to be.

Maybe it is Krause, as he got everyone who was around Jordan.

Maybe Riley, for how he turned the league upside down and got the Heat LeBron and many finals.

Looks like Krause, he got Pippen from a couple of amazing deals as the pickw as from the Knicks and then he traded with Seattle, he stole Kukoc as a second rounder after trading for that pick, a steal for Oakley, Rodman for a backup center, not sure about Stacey King.

So have a GM section.  Then have NBA and college sections, and so on.

 surprise nobody mentioned gm king james.he built the 2014 cleveland cavs.lol

 surprise nobody mentioned gm king james.he built the 2014 cleveland cavs.lol

Wait, so is DrivinDownTheStreet really Jerry West?

Wait, so is DrivinDownTheStreet really Jerry West?

 Red has got to be on the very short list with West. Remember, he was GM as well as coach through 6 championships. He drafted traded up to get Russell, took Bird a year early because he had already been in college four years and traded a first pick in the draft (Joe Barry Carroll) for Parish and McHale.

It was a long time ago and a very different league, but Red kicked the crap out of his peers for a longer time than anyone before or since (in any professional sport)

 Red has got to be on the very short list with West. Remember, he was GM as well as coach through 6 championships. He drafted traded up to get Russell, took Bird a year early because he had already been in college four years and traded a first pick in the draft (Joe Barry Carroll) for Parish and McHale.

It was a long time ago and a very different league, but Red kicked the crap out of his peers for a longer time than anyone before or since (in any professional sport)