In a series of unpublished interviews with ESPN, West described reaching a crossroads in life and in work.
He had been deeply wounded, he said, by events the previous summer and continuing into that fall – ones that fully and finally severed any remaining ties to the Lakers, the franchise he spent 40 years helping to build.
During that tenure, first as a player, then a coach, then an executive, West had helped lift the organization to historic heights before this coldest of wars. In the years since, he had hoped for reconciliation. Then, in 2019, after his family became involved, one of the most famous Lakers in history shared a once-unthinkable sentiment, one that he’d repeat privately and publicly in the years ahead.
“I almost wish,” West told ESPN, “that I had never played or worked for them.”
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/41698701/jerry-west-los-angeles-lakers-simmering-20-year-feud
Success. That’s the measure of an owner. Some might say money (worth) is the measure of an owner. They’re the 15th most valuable franchise in the world. And that’s without owning their own arena like most of the teams on the list. But no, that’s not the real measure of an owner. Success. And they have won a title and been in the playoffs most years under her. While you may turn your nose at that, there are many many franchises that don’t even sniff that sort of success. Their fans would give anything to experience that sort of success.
You have much to learn about what’s really important in the sports world. Someday, maybe you’ll learn. Until that day you’ll continue to spout off in comment sections like you’re some sort of czar of the sports world. All knowing and wise, but alas you’re a fool preaching to hear your own voice.