Jerry West, who passed away earlier this year, blames himself for what the Lakers did to his son, Ryan, in 2019.
“I almost wish,” West told ESPN, “that I had never played or worked for them.”
The younger West saw his time with the Lakers come to an end after the Clippers landed Kawhi Leonard and then Paul George).
The other LA team landed those two stars partly because of Jerry West, who worked for the organization for a number of years starting in 2017.
“The day after Leonard joined the Clippers, the team traded for star swingman Paul George, instantly making them title contenders.
“Later that month, on July 27, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Jerry West’s son, Ryan, who had spent 10 years with the Lakers and last worked as the director of player personnel, was leaving the organization.
“Team sources made clear Ryan wasn’t leaving on his own accord. Two sources close to the matter said Ryan’s departure was tied to the concept of there being no room for growth within the franchise, as ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported.
“Jerry saw it differently.”
The week after his son’s departure, West said,“They let him go because of me,”
Ryan was devastated at the time, having worked there for over a decade.
“He (the elder West) considered his son, who now works as a pro personnel scout for the Detroit Pistons, to be collateral damage in his clash with members of Lakers’ leadership,” Holmes wrote.
“The Lakers declined to comment for this story.
“(The elder) West said he apologized to Ryan, whom he described as ‘devastated.’”
A former longtime Lakers executive likened the whole situation to a tv drama.
“It’s like a soap opera,” The LA exec told ESPN. “There is fallout, which is hurtful. Ryan, to me, it looks like he paid the price for all this pettiness.”
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