Recent Lakers rumors are that the Lakers have not reached out to Jerry West to fill a void in the front office.
After a disappointing 2018-19 season, the Los Angeles Lakers have some holes to fill in their front office and on the coaching staff. This has caused a ton of Lakers rumors. Before the final game of the season, Magic Johnson resigned as the president of basketball operations. Shortly after that, Luke Walton and the team parted ways, leaving the Lakers without a head coach.
Now, the Lakers will have to find a new head coach, and also potentially a new president of basketball operations. As of now, it appears like Rob Pelinka is running the show for the Lakers, but they would certainly be wise to get a new president of basketball operations.
With some talented candidates available for the position, the Lakers have been shockingly quiet on that front so far. One of the names that have been mentioned by many as someone that the Lakers should reach out to is Jerry West. However, in a recent article by Sam Amick of The Athletic in which he interviews West, the interest might not be there. (To read the article you will need a subscription to The Athletic).
The Logo/Lakers possibility (that appears to have zero traction) is fascinating: His son, Ryan, has been there a decade. You could elevate him, bring in Jerry & a more experienced GM. Voila. But Jeanie, from the sound of it, would never go down that road https://t.co/ddP0fpgQ2v
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) April 18, 2019
West has been working with the Clippers, and with how well they are doing this season, he has obviously had a big impact. As one of the most respected names in basketball, West would be a great person to reach out to. His son is still working with the Lakers, and getting West would really stabilize things in the front office.
However, his interest to come back to the Lakers and the Lakers’ interest in bringing him back is somewhat unknown. However, there was some reported interest on West’s side not too long ago. As the offseason goes on, the Lakers have some big decisions to make regarding the president of basketball operations role and their next head coach.
If the Lakers hire a head coach before getting a president of basketball operations, they would certainly be doing things backward. Also, they still have Rob Pelinka as the general manager, which could be something that a new president of basketball operations would want to change.
It will be interesting to see how the Lakers go about things this offseason. However, a call to Jerry West would certainly be a great decision.