The Los Angeles Clippers, like the other 29 teams in the NBA, are desperate to figure out a way to compete with Golden State after the Warriors’ 16-1 postseason rampage to a second title in three years. Golden State figures to re-sign both Steph Curry and Kevin Durant this summer to keep their core group together and remain the heavy title favorites for the foreseeable future.
In an effort to bridge the gap with the Warriors, the Clippers are turning to The Logo for help, as they will hire Jerry West away from the Warriors to serve in a similar advisory role as he’s done for Golden State over the past six years, according to Jack McCallum of Sports Illustrated. West has previously served as the Lakers general manager, overseeing championship teams for Los Angeles in the ’80s and early ’00s, but has been a consultant with the Warriors for the past six seasons, assisting in their rise to becoming the league’s most dominant team.
Warriors’ owner Joe Lacob released a statement late Wednesday night on West’s departure.
Statement from Warriors owner Joe Lacob on the departure of Jerry West, who has been in deep talks with the Clippers pic.twitter.com/aN9muYGy28
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) June 15, 2017
West will come in to offer advice to Clippers’ coach and president of basketball operations Doc Rivers as Los Angeles enters a critical offseason with Chris Paul entering free agency as well as Blake Griffin, should he opt out of his player option for next season. The Clippers have been treading water as a Western Conference playoff team that has yet to reach the conference finals for a few years, and with two key players up for new deals this summer will be a critical point in their future to either stay with the group they have and hope it works or move in a different direction. For a team hoping to compete with the Warriors, digging into the Warriors front office for help isn’t the worst idea, even if it’s only in an advisory role.
