As we all know, the Lakers' performance this season did not meet expectations, after the formation of James, Wei Shao, and thick eyebrows in the offseason last year, the Lakers were once considered a championship team, but the season has passed the halfway point, the Lakers' current record is only 24 wins and 27 losses, ranking ninth in the West, whether they can enter the playoffs is still unknown.
The Lakers do not play well, the players, coaches are naturally responsible, but the management is also definitely an important factor, including the introduction of The incompatibility with the team's playing style of Westbrook, the renewal of Tucker, the release of Caruso and other decisions have been considered to be weak decisions.
The so-called roof leak coincided with overnight rain, and just when the Lakers were still struggling for this season, Lakers celebrity and Hall of Famer Jerry West gave the Lakers management another blow - West was interviewed by well-known journalist Sam Amick and said that he is now related to the Lakers.
West revealed that not long ago, the Lakers sent a text message informing him to cancel his lifetime ticket, which is reported to be promised to West by the Lakers' former owner Jerry Bass.
West said: "My wife got a cold text message, [on the Lakers] no one dared to call me, they were too stingy. I love the Lakers, I love to see them play, which is a good thing for basketball, and I'm proud of everything I have at the Lakers and proud of their positive side after leaving. ”
"But sometimes, you feel like you're being dumped like a pile of garbage, there's a couple of people over there , not Jenny, but there are a few people who do things that I don't quite understand, they do weird things, I've always had a great relationship with Jenny, at least I think so, but I'm really not sure what the relationship is now." 」
Asked if there was room for relaxation in his relationship with the Lakers, West said: "It is impossible to ease, it is too late, I don't need it, I really don't need it." It bothers me that people have changed so much, and while I don't know why it became so, it's okay, it's okay. ”
At the end of the interview, West even said: "Looking back on my career, one of the disappointing things is that my relationship with the Lakers is terrible, and I still don't know why this is the case, and when I look back, I will think, well, maybe I should play on other teams, not in the Lakers, so that at least someone will appreciate how much I gave, and someone will care about me." ”
This remark is indeed very chilling.
Starting from West's career, as one of the best guards in the history of the NBA, West has played in the NBA for a total of 14 years, all spent in the Lakers, and throughout his career, he can average 27.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game, ranking sixth in the history of scoring per game.
In his 14-year career, West was selected as an All-Star every year and was named to the Best Team 12 times, including 10 first-time games, he also helped the Lakers win the 1972 championship, and personally was elected FMVP once in the 1969 Finals, which was the only loser in history, FMVP.
In the player era, West can be said to have brought a lot of glory to the Lakers and even the NBA, the most direct proof is the current NBA LOGO, although the official has not recognized, but this LOGO is obviously based on West as the prototype.
After the end of his player career, West moved to the management of the Lakers, during which he also made great contributions to the Lakers:
In the 1980s, West created the "ShowTime" Lakers as a general manager and won three championships
In the 1990s, West traded rookie Kobe Bryant in 1996 and signed O'Neal, which also laid the foundation for the Lakers' subsequent triple crowns
Even later, when West went to the Grizzlies as management, the Lakers' achievements were still related to him — Paul Gasol went to the Lakers' trade, and West was involved.
So whether as a player or as a management, West has contributed a lot to the Lakers, and the old Buzz sent him a lifetime season ticket to thank him for what he has done for the Lakers for so many years, but when it comes to Jenny Bass, it seems that he does not know how to respect people.
In an interview last May, when Asked about the five most important people in Lakers history, she gave the answer: Kobe, James, Abdul-Jabbar, Magic, and Phil Jackson.
Jerry West's response to this was: "It's one of the most offensive things in my life, I've had a lot of successes in the past, and I'm not sure if I wasn't with the Lakers, they could have achieved that kind of success." ”
Even O'Neill was a little upset with Jenny's answer: "I'm not going to be angry about that, if I'm 29 years old, then I'll say, wait, James just played there for 720 days, you actually put him ahead of me?" ”
If Jenny's answer disappointed West, then the cancellation of the season ticket became the last straw that crushed the camel, and the relationship between the two sides has been completely broken.
So, why is the Lakers management so chaotic?
It is reported that the Lambis couple (Lakers executives) is an important reason, Cort Lambis is the Lakers ShowTime period of the hero, and later also worked as a lakers assistant coach, head coach, and now a senior consultant; Linda Lambis is an employee of the old Buzz period, married to Lambis after changing his surname to Lambis, is now the Lakers executive director, and is deeply trusted by Jenny.
The Lambis had helped Jenny Bass take over the Lakers from Xiaobas, so Jenny Bass trusted the two, but in terms of team operation, the two seemed to be a bit confused - West's "several people" may mean the Lambis, and don't forget, DeRozan almost joined the Lakers in the offseason, but even DeRozan believes that the Lakers management has a difference of opinion, which once made him less interested.
The lakers management problems, as long as Jenny is in office, may not be able to solve in a short period of time, just hope that the next Lakers can make some correct decisions, whether they can win, really not only rely on the players.
Back to Jerry West, it is no exaggeration to say that West has completed the "godfather" level of the Lakers, but now he has encountered this kind of treatment, this kind of thing is very rare in any sports league and any team, and the Lakers really don't know how to say it well.