Interview with Jerry West: Part 1

No, no, not come on on this episode they heat check. We've got a really special episode, super special. I sat down for almost two hours with the one and only Jerry West. Not often the Jerry West gives that much time to one person.

On the record. I don't think I've seen an interview with him that long.

The thing that I loved is he answered every single question, didn't duck one question, answered everything honestly, And I asked him a bunch of questions, questions that I was worried that might seem a little bit uncomfortable. He was open, and when I listened to it back, I think the thing that stuns me to a degree is when you listen to him, there's just so much insight and wisdom there about the game, about his personal lens on life, things that we can kind of take into our own lives.

A lot of my UMBs and Ah's have been cut out.

I am going to introduce each topic so that I can highlight and give additional context to what Jerry says, because I think it is so insightful. So let's get into it, all right, So let's kind of set up the scene for a quick second.

So I had been trying to nail.

Down Jerry for an interview for a few days. I knew he was going to be heading out of town back to LA to do something with the Clippers organization, something with the new arena or something. I know.

Once he went to LA, it was a rap, He's not coming. He may come back, he may not, but.

This interview's not gonna happen. So we needed to happen before that. So I'm trying to hunt him down. Didn't end up seeing him at the gym. Come back to the Aria to go back to my room, and I see him in the lobby talking to some season ticket holders. So I'm like, yo, tomorrow, let's link interviews. And he's like, yeah, let me know what's time. So we meet in the lobby ten thirty am and I'm like, okay, I know a quiet spot.

So there is a quiet.

Spot around the corner upstairs in the area where convention halls are not used, and there's a package room which was dead silent, and a Starbucks which is tucked in the back.

Of the way, and I'm like, okay, we can go there.

So we walk over there and there's a rope and there's a convention going on and they're like, oh, are.

You guys with the lead your purpose? They're like no, no, well you can't go this way.

Oh well, we're just getting a package from the package room.

We're not getting a package from the package room. So I circumvent that.

We go through and I'm like, there's a Starbucks right here, and he's like, perfect, I'm hungry.

I'm starving. Awesome.

So we sit down probably fifteen minutes before the interview gets going as a I want to say, like a warm up. He wanted coffee, he wanted a muffin. I think he also kind of wanted his vocal.

Cords to warm up. He needed more warmed.

Up because he's a very soft spoken guy. We had to bump bodyo on this and post. Anyway, while we were talking and just kind of getting warmed up, he said something that really stuck out to me and I wanted immediately to ask him on the record, which he said, I think I'm really misunderstood. I think people get me completely wrong. And I know the side of him that's always cracking jokes, ball busting, but there is this this

I'm Jerry West, so let's get into it all right.

He says he needs no introduction, so we're not gonna give it one.

He said, I don't need an intro. He doesn't mean. All you gotta say is logo.

And you know what time it is, It's Jerry West time here on the heat Check podcast. You mentioned that you think people.

Get you all wrong. What do you need?

It's been a journal graz starting with I shoot colleague in the NBA when I was akod do crazy dreams that I could depend something different.

Never in the dream I could be any world of sports.

And so I picked up a basketball at nine years of age and a very solitary person and I'm still there.

And that's a solitary person.

And I could look, do you think people think they're serious?

Well, I think people probably look at them and say, well, they haven't many me.

He's probably not approach to who, he's probably aloof. I am none of those period.

I love people, loved trying to help people, like to them, and along the way that's been a part of my life. Also but the only thing that again that connected me to so many people, meeting people I never thought I knew, traveling places. I never thought I would love to what's through the world of basketball.

I was able to have a career for fourteen years. That was pretty good. It was all right, And to be involved in the management in was something that rank how we're concerned. Did I do it? But I thought it was pretty easy for the college.

One really want as many complex lainers to us loss to that. You know, we have so long on what people working on a league. The league has changed greatly before the three point line. But this gender game of basketball, it's about people. It's about people, the skilled who can play together as a team and mold themselves.

And he's something that fans are going the lots.

There's probably no one in NBA history who is as much of a competitor as Jerry West.

He cares about winning more than anything.

But we also know it's been well documented that he doesn't like to lose. That's been well documented, and he brought up how much he hates losing kind of as an aside to another question in the context of managing and constructing a roster, as an executive, and that kind of took us down this fascinating side road about how much Jerry West actually hates losing.

Take a listen, I.

Hate losing how much.

To this day the day it torments me that I lost NBA Finals eight times.

And which one was the worst.

In nineteen sixty nine, a great team and we lose to the Boston Celtics. But anyway, we pick the time to play a four game. They played well.

If we would played the way we're capable, we would won that young And that was probably the most tormenting one I was. It's never happened before.

I was the most valuable player in the NBA Finals and losing teams that made.

It even worse.

To be honest with you, I thought, it is a team game, and some players excel and have enough level in the whole period, it wasn't good enough.

Yes, I really wanted to flip again the thought and then know if there was anything nothing in me, it should be spiritually.

And then and I'll challenge you'll fighting depression that I had caught all in my life.

That was probably one of the lowest spirits in my life.

As you know, you you thought of thought of the loose side.

I couldn't decide. Even to this day, I can, so.

You still think about it now?

Oh yeah, absolutely. I thought there were two Tian teacher to be the most healthies, but uh we didn't. But you know, tribute to the end they played, they.

Were Uh we were the the asterisk.

Besides the championships, championship self like, winning is always given me. Excellence was always given and you can't do it.

You can't achieve the games channel time unless she Hio habits.

I met Jerry Beck in twenty eighteen on a basketball court, and the first question I ever asked him was about him as a talent evaluator.

I wanted to know you're one of the best.

Why can you seemingly see things that almost no one else can see? Or why do you see them more consistently than anyone else? And how do you know that a player is going to be special and which ones are going to be busts.

It's one of the most.

Fascinating questions to me, because I think it's so nuanced and so.

Hard to figure out. And for people who don't know, there's people I guess that don't.

Jerry West has been part of front offices for the Showtime Lakers.

That's five rings.

Was responsible for bringing in Kobe and Shack and hiring Phil Jackson to the Lakers.

That's three championships while he was there.

Went to Memphis in the Grit and Grind era, which was a whole thing in itself with Gasol, both Gasol brothers, with Mike Conley Junior, a bunch of guys insane tenure there as well, and then goes to work for the Warriors as a special assistant and was a part of drafting Draymond Green and finding him in the draft, recruiting Kevin Durant, nixing a trade that would have traded Klay

Do not forget that.

And the thing I really appreciate about this clip is how he simplifies the game.

What does he see?

He makes it so easy for us to see what he looks at in deciding who's good and who's not.

The if not the one of the best talent evaluators in the game of basketball that we've ever seen.

How do you do that?

Well? To me, your eyes don't lie to you. Okay, they never know, you know. He gets the players of today obviously so much younger when they've been pushed in the time fifteen years old, their rank of union, the top tim high school player in their country. I've kind not to playing fans in that I really do, because the kids are just much mormature where body was body was.

And also you could have a kid that's going in January of the same year as someone going in December. It is the whole year that actually there's something I do pay attention to. So the first one later has to be physically not as equipp is a guy who's a whole year older.

And then the other one and yet they were going the same others.

But to me just watching games, uh, some kids have unique talent to make others better. They seem like they're a step ahead, a play ahead where they never get themselves in trouble, running over people, making turnovers and.

In today's game turnovers or it's a it's a year of two or three point flock.

And so I've tried to understand that taking consideration the youth.

But at the end of the day, I like a certain kind of player.

I like the long armed athletic players, and particularly people who can thank the game at a higher levels.

If you can't keep your body under control, and some of these kids.

Are incredible, often because someone that's so out of control.

If you can't keep your body under control.

The thing that I would think everyone could see would be playing too fast, where some people whatever, some skilled, the faster you can play.

But probably the thing except them par the ones who are not I roll up make things kind of plays, and the only they go too fast, they have to see the game in slow motion, and particularly at this higher level.

So in the era of super teams, we have some gms and executives who want to just put like three of the best players on planet Earth together, and they somehow think that's gonna work, right, And they believe you put a few talented, hyper talented players together in your win. A talented assortment of players on a team wins every time.

To them.

What makes Jerry West different is best explained in an analogy he gives in this next clip where he describes a roster like a car, like an automobile, and he also mentions how he uses the draft to build a roster, how he convinces players to buy into playing this role. And to me, it's really detailed and really nuanced. And he was particularly soft spoken in this clip, so listen carefully with your headphones on full blast.

But you're certain players I like, I have a different analogy of what I think is the league. I do not play and get a chancel, which don't fids to get into the league, and protecting the young means because I don't see a body of works here to compare them to here, and particularly playing against people with all you know, much greater age and mufic, you know, playing

Anyway, basketball, you need five players to start.

Okay, and then if you have a really good team, people coming off the nuns have.

To be able to comp the moment then and it's a working unit.

If you have a missing piece, I'm assuming its life of car in some respects. We have one real fighting fall in the car and at the end of the day that car is gonna break down.

How do you use that philosophy to find red players that are those little tiny parts for the car?

Well, and unfortunately, I definitely wanting my I was in Memphis. Memphis completely different than.

The whole tanga.

We really have the ability that the draft some really unique players who trade and allowed us to get very high in the draft, and then they turned off. Fantastic came from big stars, and so we leave the players to compliment things.

And so you're all went a long way. When you I think you have to look, you know, how odd reap this position?

And I like to see some kind of a draft or there's not just thirty year old players who go straight down. I like kind of a slanting line that will allow the older players, players that are in their twenties, and then the younger kids who hopefully to jump in and there with your talents and be able to fit in at.

A great team.

But also, I will tell you if you had a chance to be involved with really great players, they welcomed these young and they want.

Them to get negg and to me, the more you put your arm around the kid who I'm struggling to be rugg and might lose confidence, maybe he's quiet and shy, try to make them part of it.

Everyone should year even if you office funt office gets so.

Big to them expanded so much, they're not intimate as they once were. Which there's a reason of that, because I tremendous grows in the league expansion. Everyone is trying to get some kind of head and they hire the best people of the.

Best supposed to be the best coaching is, the best trainer, the best health experts. So there's a lot more at stake today. So consequently, you're going.

To have more people with him in the league, and there's all kind of people out there they're thinking of gotten you no doubt, and it's yeah, because you have to find a way to convince them.

That keeping computed to your Here, Jerry discusses how he can identify if a player has the competitive spirit or if they love the game.

This is one of those things we're all wondering about. How do you know?

How can you tell if a player actually loves basketball? He breaks this down very simply, but he moves on and dissects something else, which I.

Think is even more interesting.

At Summer League, I heard Isaiah Thomas on a broadcast saying how every young player in the league owes a debt of gratitude to Jerry West. And if you listen to this clip, I think you'll find out very quickly why. This is a guy who played right before salary started skyrocketing, and for whatever reason, he has zero bitterness over the fact his era was not treated the same as this era.

There's like this X factor, the love of the game. He just loves basketball, or he's just this relentless competitor he hates to lose.

Kind of like you, how do you quantify that?

Because everyone's says they love the game.

Is it just a gut feeling where you meet him and you're like, oh, yeah, I think he's gonna take games for Yeah.

Some of these kids have a gleaming wye okay, and they're wide eyed and and particularly when they're taking around from the bedroom players.

But I've always said, find something you love to do. Get what you love to do. Anyone ever working dare in my life.

And today these kids would come in, they have high ass the rays and they've been pushed.

They've been training at a.

Higher level than players with yesteryear. And you get around them, and you get around them and you've talked to him and some of them talk a good game. Some of them tell you how good they are, but to me, what the work they put in. After you've had your conversation, they're a gym rats. There's guys that just love to be in the gym. And it's just amazing today that's you know, you have the season doesn't start to you know, lates early October.

And they have kids in other gym all the times. I mean, they're not just young kid, they're better.

And that's a whole agree the uniqueness of this league today, kids from all level. If they can't come in and play them, they surely can make enough money because there's biggest storgument that they're going to make so much.

Answer the money and advertise them and stuff like that. Many of them make a lot more than they do in solid. So they do have their own father. But pint out I was trying to make at a very young age.

You get out of course thing you get out of college, you got a degree. Everyone else has a degree. It's difficult to get a job, and how long does it take you to get to a point within an organization that people appreciate you and you made a lot of money to make your life easier, and the can you want to retire? But if you want to do that, these kids can we out today are wealth and so they can take to three years old and sidifying what path they want to take, continue to continue their life.

And I think to me, that is an unbelievable gifts not to have to go out and get a regular job, and so they can pick and choose. Also the white players and they.

Play the game, they played it with great intensive that they have contributed a.

Lot of other ways. Those people truly can make.

A difference in those world by getting by maybe being involved in the game itself again the game they loved, okay, in a game that.

Allowed them this enormous opportunity in life to make their life comfortable, their family's comfortable, their children comfortable and living for pretty on the way most of the players that come in this league, they don't come from multi family adjustment.

And it's it's a reward for I always work they've done, and more importantly.

How proud their parents are at the but your son it fell at higher level and walk away with great name.

More importantly, financial security.

What percentage of players in the league, no matter how rich they get, still have the work ethic like a player like Kawhii.

Well, there's a lot of players in the league really work hard. I mean you can sing a while cling players, but there's a lot unemployed.

Part Well, I think it's I mean, you got to be proud of what you do. And I always use this story that remind me so much.

Out was when I was a kid. He used to love to go on to the mountain and flying and westward, being as.

Hill league, and you get the top of the mountain and you say, oh my god, what a great view over there. Well, in the NBA, if you get the top of the mountain, if you just look back, nobody chasing up the hill.

So you better go try to climb a higher amount.

I think it's something that these great players, even the ones who have had a long distinguished career, they might not be great, but they have had to work their fannies all to maintain the position in the league. And if they can today, if these players they start so young, they can play the way to take care of themselves.

They can play the thirty six thirty eight years old. Yeah, it's amazing, really is.

So if you're wondering why certain teams always seem to be good and other teams always seem to be bad, there is a reason for it. And in this clip he describes the danger of being a good team, which means that you always end up drafting late, and how good teams and what they do to continue to succeed despite their draft position. If you're a good team, according to him, the future is right now, which explains kind of perfectly why the Timberwolves made the moves that they did this offseason.

They want to win right now. So interesting stuff here from Jerry.

Outside of the Clippers, who do you think has been the most successful.

At finding and developing unique talent for what they are doing for you know, the identity.

Of their team?

Well, you know, there's a number of teams that's done really well.

But the problem is is that you know, once you do well for a long time, you say your team is really a good team.

You're drafting at the end of the draft. There's teams down there if.

They can identify a players, they're the ones that I would pay most extensions to, particularly when you're not very good, and by not being very good is having one of the worst five records in them. We okay, well, a lot of times people get very very excited, Oh, we want to draft this other guy. We want to draft that guy, and in this the number one taking the draft of failed three times. Now, once you're thinking about all the people out there watching these kids, how can that happen?

I was wondering the same thing.

Happens happens people humor. You know, they're trying to project the guy for the future. Where the future is now. To be honest with you, it might take a little longer with these kids, but really good teams, they seem to be able to bring in a veteran player and say a mid level which is part of our reflective boardin agreement, that might be better than some young kid

Includes everything ownership. People in the front.

Office scouts, and that's that's not a criticism that some people don't have very much love. You see players that come into the league and they're really great young players, they'll have a devastating injury which you can't recover from.

Final piece here.

So with Kevin Durant's request for a trade looming over the summer league, I was hoping that we can find a way to touch on this. I was only going to ask it if it came up organically, but I am curious about older players and how they think about just movement as a whole, Guys asking out from their teams with lengthy durations left on their contract. So he brings up trade requests happening in the newspapers, and I thought, okay, I'm gonna jump immediately on this.

What came next, though, was a lot.

More than I anticipated, and a shocking admission about Jerry's time with the Lakers.

There's a free agency, the said, reading the paper, demand to be traded.

What do you think about that?

It's a the fellows, but today players have so much they have so much power.

You know, they're partnering with the NBA and there was a great relationship with her. But unless I had I'll use myself in career. It was one time in my career. I played fourteen years old with the Lakers. There was one time in my career because somebody told me something that wasn't the truth, and this person, who happened to be the owned team I ever forgave me.

And this was when I was a player, and I really felt, I really felt, why lie to me? I don't lie to you again. I came from Watch Your Junior and I sort of rely on real They bought it very awkwardly were but he trusted them.

And this was one of the things that I would have been a free agent. I would have left for sure that I'm pretty loyal in terms of if you work someplace where it's fun, ownership is great. It really it's fun to get to know the people there, trying to make it a family, like the atmosphere and go

Are behind the scenes and don't give any credit and they never get any credit. They're hidden faces, but they're so proud of their job.

But often I said, no matter how manial a job, to someone, that's the most important thing in the world.

And salty very much.

So I love people, probably do anything people and particularly people don't working.

That means there's a limit. There's a moment you can go for sure.

But once I feel like no one appreciates anyone, I'm not gonna be there.

I'll walk away.

What did they lie to you about?

Well, this was over a salary. We had no agency, and this was over a contractual thing. And just I said to myself, well, out of any one, I knew that people paid the seed deploy. I knew they paid to see the Laker eploy. We had some great players with them just out.

Of our life, all about what you were worth as.

But again there was no way to determine that. Then today there was a way to determine that. No one knew the salary. The agents knew all the salary today.

And that's been the free agency that I was thought about first starting, And I wish I would have had someone.

To represent me, but owners. Owners wouldn't even pay attention to the games.

And today they're very powerful, Yeah they are, and they know they negotiate contracts with players.

I looked at and I say, I wouldn't paint that trainer of that much money. And it's not disrespectful.

Yeah, but once you're wanted to pay something a lot, invariably as somebody with a team a lot better than that person, but you have to pay that player more.

And it's one of the problems I had.

No players should be under played, none, not one player should be underplayed, and and negotiating to me, the players should feel like they end up winning you finding nothing exposed to it.

Pay the guy. The loyal team means everything in them.

And I learned it because an incident in my life that nobody started, and particularly you know, I was at player every year. I was kind of a at purpose player and that really bothered him and it made me probably help me asn't exactive more than anything.

I was not ever under fake game and not even if there.

Was fifty thousand dollars in there's a lot of money. And for fifty thousand dollars, lew working with Jerry Lay Jerry, does we gave it to the players, Yes, and so it created a better environment. The players were always gray there. We hadn't then we Every once in a while you get a player that really didn't fit in, but still you had at grace him. Hopefully he could change by

On me to win.

That's good, all right, That's all the time that we have for part one. In part two, we're gonna it's so good. We're gonna discuss more about his time with the clip. He mentions what team he thinks is the best team of all time, and that's not the Bulls, None of the.

Bulls rosters he believes is the best team of all time.

He discusses how he would build a roster around Lebron James, his unvarnished opinion on winning time. If you liked part one, part two might be even better.

It's a doozy. That's all the time that we have for this episode of the Heat Check.

We'll be back later this week with a regular episode and late late this week Part two from Jerry West. Do not forget to download them, subscribe and follow us on TikTok at this heat Check and Trista Crik

Tell all your friends about this fucking interview.