| | Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- From Wilt to Showtime to Shaq, Jerry West was
part of it all during his 40 years with the Los Angeles Lakers.
On Monday, he decided the time was right to leave basketball
behind.
West, who couldn't even watch in June as the Lakers won their
first championship in 12 years, retired, ending four decades with
the franchise as one of the NBA's greatest players and top
executives.
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Mon, Aug. 7
Jerry West has restored the Lakers to a position of dominance. He won a championship going away, and the acquisition of Shaq led the Lakers back. Maybe there will be another job for Jerry out there someday, but he has been doing this for a long time. If he enjoyed it he didn't let a lot of people know about it. He was getting a little weary of it all. Every year the expectation level is high, with a lot of pressure on everybody in the organization. Now Phil Jackson will have a lot more say in personnel. Jerry sees this as a good opportunity to go out while on top.
Mitch Kupchak has been making lot of the calls the last couple of years. I don't think the Lakers will miss a beat. Mitch has been up for a number of jobs the last 4-5 years, so I don't think there will be any dropoff in continuity. They don't have to do that much anyway with Shaq and Kobe around, just tinkering.
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"The average person wouldn't understand the pressure and stress
that I've felt in my life," West said in an interview with
Dunk.Net released shortly after he announced his retirement.
"I need to get off this merry-go-round for a while," he said.
"It's a sad and happy time in my life. I don't know anything else
but the Lakers. This has certainly been more than a job for me as a
player. It has certainly meant more to me than just an
occupation."
West, 62, will be succeeded as executive vice president of
basketball operations by general manager Mitch Kupchak, who has
worked with West in the front office the past 14 years.
Kurt Rambis, interim coach for the Lakers for most of the
lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, was promoted to assistant general
manager.
"Obviously, Jerry West is irreplaceable. What he's meant to the
Lakers' franchise over the past 40 years is immeasurable," Lakers
owner Jerry Buss said.
West, who granted few interviews in recent weeks, didn't appear
at an afternoon news conference at the Lakers' training facility in
nearby El Segundo to announce his retirement and the promotions of
Kupchak and Rambis.
"If you know Jerry, you know he wouldn't be here," Kupchak
said.
"I know this is a little bit awkward, a little bit different,"
director of public relations John Black said. "This is the way
Jerry wanted to do it."
Kupchak, 46, called West "my mentor, my guiding light, my best
friend."
"Hopefully, I can walk in the footsteps of Jerry West," he
said.
Coach Phil Jackson, who signed a five-year contract in June
1999, reportedly will have a stronger say in roster decisions when
Kupchak takes over, although Kupchak said coaches have always been
consulted when moves were made.
West joined the Lakers in 1960 as a first-round draft choice
from West Virginia, and was acknowledged to be one of the NBA's
finest players, retiring in 1974 with a 25.0 points per game
average -- currently fifth-highest in league history.
He was held in such high regard by the NBA that he was used as
the silhouette for the league's logo, and was honored as one of the
league's 50 greatest players in 1997.
West won one championship as a player, in 1972, and six more as an executive -- five in the 1980s.
There have been reports that West wasn't well physically, but
when asked about his health, he replied, "I feel absolutely
fantastic."
However, he also said: "I know that my doctor is not
disappointed that this is something that might be good for me, to
just walk away from it for a while. I do have this addiction to
this team, and addictions are hard to get over, as a lot of people
are aware of."
He also said for the first time in a long time, he felt "pretty
calm."
"I have a relatively young family, I think you need a father in the house and that's the most important thing in my life right now," he said.
However, West said he didn't want to leave the door open to a
possible return, and said working for another organization would be
most difficult.
As far as reports he might someday work for the Clippers, he
said, "That would not happen, you can rest assured of that."
Kupchak said he didn't expect West to return.
"He's not indicated that to me," Kupchak said. "It's too far
off. I don't think it's something he wants to talk about or think
about at this time."
West goes out a winner, thanks to the Lakers' victory over the
Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals. West opted not to attend any of
the games against the Pacers because, "I couldn't stand to watch
them."
Kupchak couldn't come up with an answer when asked why West
decided to step down.
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West's accomplishments
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Player (1960-1974): Named one of the 50 Greatest Players In NBA history, West is the second-leading playoff scorer ever with 29.1 ppg ... Is a 10-time All-NBA first team selection and four-time NBA All-Defensive first team pick ... Holds the NBA record for free throws made in a season (840 in 1965-66) ... Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979.
Coach (1976-1979): Led the Lakers to a 145-101 record (.589) in his three seasons as head coach, including an NBA-best 53-29 in 1976-77 ... Led Los Angeles to the playoffs each season, beginning a streak of 17 consecutive years in the postseason.
Executive (1979-2000): Was promoted to general manager in 1982 after three years as a special consultant ... During West's 18 years as general manager (1982-1994) and Executive Vice President (1995-2000), the Lakers have the league's highest regular-season winning percentage (.673, 972-472), highlighted by four NBA championships (1985, 1987, 1988 and 2000) and eight trips to the NBA Finals ... Named NBA Executive of the Year in 1994-95.
--ESPN.com
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"Certainly winning a championship has got to factor in
somewhere," Kupchak said, adding he believed it was important for
West to win a championship without the nucleus of the 1980s teams
that won five titles -- Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James
Worthy.
"I think it was important for him for that group to retire and
rebuild it, from scratch," Kupchak said. "It's almost like, 'My
job is done, time for me to move on, time for someone else to take over."'
Kupchak said there is a contractual agreement between West and
the Lakers although West won't be involved in the day-to-day
decisions.
"I don't think there is an official title, consultant, anything
of that nature," Kupchak said.
After retiring as a player, West spent two years away from the
game before replacing Bill Sharman as coach of the Lakers before
the 1976-77 season.
He spent three years as coach and three more as a special
consultant with the team before being promoted to general manager
before the 1982-83 season. Since then he has handled day-to-day
operations and all player personnel decisions.
In an open letter to fans, West said of the Lakers, "I will
remain their biggest fan."
A member of the 1960 gold medal U.S. Olympic team, West helped
the Lakers reach the NBA Finals nine times. A 14-time All-Star, he
was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979. The Lakers
retired his No. 44 jersey four years later.
As an executive, West completed many major deals, among them the
acquisition of Kobe Bryant in a trade for Vlade Divac shortly after
the 1996 NBA draft and the signing of free agent Shaquille O'Neal
that same summer.
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 GM Mitch Kupchak and the Lakers announce Jerry West's retirement.
RealVideo: 28.8
 Mitch Kupchak talks about receiving his promotion from Jerry West.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Hornets coach Paul Silas says the league will truly miss Jerry West.
wav: 166 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
David Aldridge comments on the overall excellence Jerry West brought the Lakers organization
wav: 134 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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