XPost: alt.sports.basketball.nba.la-lakers, talk.politics.guns, alt.los-angeles   
   XPost: sac.politics   
   From: salute@jerry.west   
      
   The sadness was compounded by the strangeness.   
      
   The announcement of the death of the greatest Laker was made by the   
   Clippers.   
      
   “Jerry West, the personification of basketball excellence and a friend to   
   all who knew him, passed away peacefully this morning at the age of 86,”   
   read the Wednesday morning release from the Clippers’ communications   
   department.   
      
   The Clippers loved Jerry West, and were loved by him, and he was treated   
   with the utmost dignity and respect during his seven years as their adviser.   
      
   But he will forever be a Laker.   
      
   He built the Lakers into a Southern California institution as a player. He   
   constructed and nurtured the Lakers’ greatness as a general manager.   
      
   He was their conscience. He was their heartbeat. He was their soul. He was   
   the most important person to ever walk through their gym doors.   
      
   But in the end, for a variety of reasons, the basketball genius and his   
   creation were estranged.   
      
   West walked away from the Lakers 24 years ago and never returned.   
      
   It was always so bizarre, the best executive in the history of sports living   
   down the street from an organization he helped build into the most   
   celebrated in sports … and yet they didn’t talk.   
      
   The Lakers struggled after the trade of Shaquille O’Neal while West watched   
   from Memphis. The Lakers were adrift in the final years of Kobe Bryant while   
   West watched from Golden State. The Lakers were buckling in the early years   
   of LeBron James while West watched from the Clippers.   
      
   He was so close, yet so far.   
      
   The Lakers honored him with a statue in 2011 in an event attended by owner   
   Jerry Buss and all sorts of Lakers royalty. But they continued along   
   separate paths until his death Wednesday poignantly reminded everyone of   
   their divorce.   
      
   The Clippers were the first to issue a statement early Wednesday morning,   
   reading, “The Clippers have lost a mentor, a confidant and a friend.”   
      
   At the same time, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer issued his own statement,   
   writing, “From the first day I met Jerry seven years ago, he inspired me   
   with his intellect, honesty and enthusiasm. He never stopped. I spent a lot   
   of time with him, some of the best times of my life. He always lent an ear,   
   and he always had a quip. He always left me laughing. I will miss him.”   
      
   The Lakers’ statement came later, reading, in part, “Jerry West is forever   
   a   
   basketball icon … Jerry West will always be a Lakers legend.”   
      
   It was nice, but it was four sentences and there was no personalized tribute   
   from a Lakers official until Jeanie Buss issued a short statement on   
   Instagram in the early afternoon.   
      
   “Today is a difficult day for all Laker fans,” she wrote. “I know that   
   if my   
   father were here, he would say that Jerry West was at the heart of all that   
   made the Lakers great. He was an icon to all — but he was also a hero to our   
   family. We all send our sympathies to Karen and the West family.”   
      
   Again, it was nice, but compared to past Lakers tributes for fallen stars   
   such as Elgin Baylor and Tex Winter, the team’s response was underwhelming   
   for a man who deserved so much more.   
      
   West was essentially the first Los Angeles Lakers draft pick, as he was the   
   first-round selection of the Minneapolis Lakers shortly before they moved to   
   Los Angeles.   
      
   It was West and Baylor who became this city’s first professional basketball   
   stars. It was West’s 63-foot, overtime-forcing basket in the 1970 NBA Finals   
   against the New York Knicks that became one of this city’s first great   
   sports moments.   
      
   He had this city’s first great sports nickname — “Mr. Clutch.” He   
   garnered   
   arguably the highest honor of any athlete in this city’s history — his   
   silhouette is the NBA logo.   
      
   Then, after 15 years as a Lakers star, he became this city’s first dynasty   
   builder, nurturing the “Showtime” era, then personally building the   
   O’Neal-   
   Bryant era by signing Shaq and trading for Kobe.   
      
      
      
   That expertise has been sorely missing from the Lakers in recent years. In   
   fact, its exit is one of two occurrences that have led to the current   
   struggles of the once-strong front office.   
      
   One could say the slow slide began with the departure of West and the death   
   of Jerry Buss.   
      
      
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   LAKERS   
   Jerry West watches warm ups prior to a 2020 game between the Clippers and   
   Kings   
   Jerry West and the Lakers’ front office were estranged at the time of his   
   death, adding more sadness to the announcement of his death on Wednesday.   
   (Kelvin Kuo/ Associated Press)   
      
   By Bill Plaschke   
   Columnist   
   Follow   
   June 12, 2024 4:38 PM PT   
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   The sadness was compounded by the strangeness.   
      
   The announcement of the death of the greatest Laker was made by the   
   Clippers.   
      
   “Jerry West, the personification of basketball excellence and a friend to   
   all who knew him, passed away peacefully this morning at the age of 86,”   
   read the Wednesday morning release from the Clippers’ communications   
   department.   
      
   The Clippers loved Jerry West, and were loved by him, and he was treated   
   with the utmost dignity and respect during his seven years as their adviser.   
      
   But he will forever be a Laker.   
      
   He built the Lakers into a Southern California institution as a player. He   
   constructed and nurtured the Lakers’ greatness as a general manager.   
      
   Sankara XT pauses to photograph a statue of Jerry West at Crypto.Com Arena   
   after hearing the news of his death Wednesday.   
   Sankara XT pauses to photograph a statue of Jerry West at Crypto.Com Arena   
   after hearing the news of his death Wednesday. (Robert Gauthier / Los   
   Angeles Times)   
   He was their conscience. He was their heartbeat. He was their soul. He was   
   the most important person to ever walk through their gym doors.   
      
   But in the end, for a variety of reasons, the basketball genius and his   
   creation were estranged.   
      
   West walked away from the Lakers 24 years ago and never returned.   
      
   It was always so bizarre, the best executive in the history of sports living   
   down the street from an organization he helped build into the most   
   celebrated in sports … and yet they didn’t talk.   
      
   The Lakers struggled after the trade of Shaquille O’Neal while West watched   
   from Memphis. The Lakers were adrift in the final years of Kobe Bryant while   
   West watched from Golden State. The Lakers were buckling in the early years   
   of LeBron James while West watched from the Clippers.   
      
   Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant gives basketball great Jerry West a shoulder   
   rub after the Lakers beat the San Antonio Spurs 100-92 in Game 5 of the NBA   
   Western Conference basketball finals, Thursday, May 29, 2008 in Los Angeles.   
   (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)   
   OBITUARIES   
      
   Jerry West, Lakers legend and architect of ‘Showtime’ era, dies at 86   
   June 12, 2024   
      
   He was so close, yet so far.   
      
   The Lakers honored him with a statue in 2011 in an event attended by owner   
   Jerry Buss and all sorts of Lakers royalty. But they continued along   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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