How should the Lakers honor Jerry West next season?
After the passing of one of the franchises greatest players and front office executives of all time, how should the Lakers honor Jerry West next season?
This week’s mailbag might be a bit late, but better late than never. I was too busy dreading the Celtics title that felt like an inevitability early on in the series.
But we’re here for another mailbag. The NBA season is behind us and now the real fun starts with the 2024 NBA Draft and, quickly thereafter, free agency.
Let’s dive into your questions, then.
I think it’s imperative the Lakers do something next season to honor Jerry West. I know things were very sour between the Lakers and West at the time of his passing with neither side innocent.
But there’s an argument to be made West is the greatest Laker of all-time, but more on that shortly.
I think the bare minimum would be a patch on the jersey for West. There should also be a similar logo or patch on the court to honor him. No matter how bad things got, he’s a central figure of the Lakers franchise for a 40-year span.
The front office and Jeanie Buss can’t allow the soured relationships to stop them from honoring a great.
I know there’s a lot of questions here, but I want to focus on the last one.
The quickest summary of it is that West had a Hall of Fame career on the court and then a Hall of Fame career off it. He was so good during his years as a Laker that they made him the dang logo. He won a Finals MVP as a member of the losing team. He was a generational player.
And then he moved to the front office and created two dynasties. He helped build the Showtime Lakers, one of the greatest eras not just of Lakers basketball, but the entire league.
Then, he built the Shaq and Kobe Lakers, the two centerpieces of that coming in one summer. Between winning a title and helping build teams that won six more, there’s an argument for him as the greatest exec ever.
While there are often debates about who the greatest Laker is based on the production on the court, there is no debate if you’re including front office contribution.
Jerry West is Mr. Laker.
Off the top of my head, the only person you could put in the conversation would be Pat Riley for his success at multiple franchises leading to nine titles in total. Coaching the Showtime Lakers, the mid-90s Knicks and then building the Heatles? That’s a really strong argument and I’d probably lean that way.
Even if he failed as an owner, Michael Jordan deserves a mention. If LeBron James does end up owning a team, he will have a chance to enter that conversation, too.
But no matter what, West is in that conversation.
Admittedly, I didn’t pay a lot of attention to the draft because it felt like a certainty they would trade the pick. But here we are, little more than a week away from the draft without any whispers of a trade.
For pick No. 17, my main thought is don’t draft a guard. The Lakers have long employed the strategy of best player available with their draft, no matter the fit. But this roster already has a lot of guards and selecting another doesn’t feel like the best asset management when it comes to the pick.
The team seems to really like Devin Carter, but it does not seem likely he’ll be available. I have lots of concerns about Zach Edey, particularly on the defensive end. Ron Holland seems like it could be a Cam Whitemore situation all over again looking at it from afar.
Tristan da Silva seems like he’d make a lot of sense for the Lakers. As does Kyle Filipowski.
What I would say is the Lakers deserve a lot of benefit of the doubt no matter who they take, even after a draft last season that didn’t reap immediate rewards.
As always, thank you guys for the questions. Let’s do it again next week!
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.