Game 31: Jerry West - Spicy Egg Nog
The last time I wrote about Jerry West, it was about his image being used as the NBA’s logo. But the NBA didn’t use him just because that photo of him cutting to the basket exemplified the elegant physicality and in-motion beauty of the sport. They also chose him because he fucking demolished opposing teams. But as dominant as West was as a player -- 27 points, 5.8 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 47% FG over a 14 season career -- he was arguably more ruthless and successful (especially when it comes to championship rings) as a general manager and executive with the Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors, and Los Angeles Clippers.
The two-time Executive of the Year (1995, 2004) was so successful as a wheeler and dealer that NBA fans could debate his greatest front office moves with the same passion as people debating MJ vs LeBron. So I’ve come up with what I think are Jerry West’s top 5 moves, in no particular order, as an executive. Please don’t argue with me. I don’t want to argue. I’m all about peace, maaaaan.
Trading Norm Nixon for Byron Scott
One of West’s first moves as GM was one of his ballsiest, but also one of the most necessary. When the Lakers drafted Magic Johnson in 1979 with the overall #1 pick, it was a no-brainer. This was despite the Lakers already having a great point guard in Norm Nixon who averaged averaged 17.6 points, 9 assists, and 2.5 steals in the season prior to Magic’s arrival. Maybe he thought the 6’10” “guard” from Michigan would play a position more naturally suited to his height, but all it took was one look at Magic’s no-look passes for Magic to secure his spot at point and leaving Nixon as their shooting guard.
While Nixon and Magic bristled at times, it wasn’t for a lack of success. They won the NBA Finals in Magic’s first season and another in 1981-1982. But Nixon, who was starting to suffer from tendinitis in his knees, was continuing to get on his teammate’s nerves. When he heard trade rumors before the start of 1983’s training camp, he told Lakers director of promotions Lon Rosen to let West know he wanted out. According to Jeff Pearlman’s Showtime, Nixon figured he’d be joining Ralph Sampson in Houston. But West had a deal lined up with the worst franchise in the NBA.
On October 11, 1983, West traded Nixon to the San Diego Clippers for rookie shooting guard Byron Scott, whom the Clippers drafted but were unable to sign. At first, the Lakers were pilloried in the press. How could they trade a key player from two championship teams? But Scott, a prototypical shooting guard, was an assassin at the #2 spot who knocked down thousands of Magic’s passes over his career. Just going off Nixon’s stats, the Lakers might’ve won the same amount of championships had he stayed. But given his chemistry issues with the team’s star, his fate was sealed. The only question was when and where.
Trading Vlade Divac for Kobe Bryant
I went into great detail about this history changing trade in my Gene Tormohlen entry, which you can read here. It’s an obvious move now. But at the time, trading for the 17 year old Kobe Bryant (so young that his parents signed his contract) was nowhere near a sure thing. This was West’s biggest risk but his biggest reward: The greatest player to ever wear purple and gold.
Drafting James Worthy #1
The Lakers were victorious in the 1982 NBA Finals, meaning that brand new GM Jerry West should’ve been making the last pick of that draft. But because of the bumbling and incompetent Cleveland Cavaliers owner Ted Stepien -- who forced the NBA to institute the Stepien Rule after he traded away 5 consecutive first round picks -- West had his pick of James Worthy, Dominique Wilkins, and Ralph Sampson, though Sampson eventually decided to re-enter college after it became clear he’d be the Clippers’ selection.
So should West really get a ton of credit here given that both Worthy and Wilkins went on to have Hall of Fame careers? I think so. If general managers pick players solely based on talent, then he made the wrong choice. Wilkins earned the nickname The Human Highlight Reel for his incredible offensive ability and the ferociousness with which he scored. But it’s hard to imagine him putting up those same numbers on a team with Magic, Kareem, Scott, and co.
Would Wilkins have been fine being the, at best, 2nd scorer on these teams? We’ll never know that answer. But we do know that Worthy was the perfect 3rd option on the Showtime teams. Worthy could’ve been the best player on most teams, but he played his role and made his team better. For all of Wilkins’ talent, his teams never made it to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Making a Phone Call to Kevin Durant
After the Oklahoma City Thunder blew a 3 games to 1 lead in the 2016 Western Conference Finals, free agent Kevin Durant did the unthinkable: He spurred the Thunder, joined the team that defeated them in the WCF, and officially replaced LeBron James as the league’s biggest villain. But what tipped him over the edge? West will never take credit for it, but it was likely his 11th hour phone call to Durant that sealed his signing with the Golden State Warriors.
It wasn’t the first time West phoned a superstar. After LeBron and the Miami Heat lost to the Dallas Maverick in the 2011 NBA Finals, LeBron’s second Finals loss, West gave him an unexpected pep talk over the phone. West knew a lot about losing; he and the Lakers lost eight times in the Finals, almost all of them to the Celtics, before they finally brought L.A. a championship. The following year after this call, King James finally earned his crown.
As for Durant, he took meetings with half a dozen teams. But it was West who reminded him how much easier it’d be playing among the highest-scoring backcourt in decades and not having to play against two of the West’s best defenders in Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green. West also played to Durant’s eccentricities. KD is one of the most dominant scorers the NBA has ever seen, but when asked what his nickname should be, Durant suggested “The Servant” due to his passing ability. West mentioned over the phone that’d Durant would be recognized for other aspects of his game in Golden State, like his rebounding ability.
That’s all it took to sway KD. In his three years in the East Bay, the Warriors made it to three straight NBA Finals. KD won the NBA Finals MVP in the first two years, both wins, and his Achilles injury was the key reason they failed to repeat.
Stopping Golden State from Trading Klay Thompson for Kevin Love
The only time I ever paid attention to NCAA basketball were the years 2004-2008. I couldn’t have picked a better time -- AKA I was incredibly lonely during high school and filled my nights and weekends with sports -- to follow UCLA basketball. In that four season stretch, the Bruins not only made it to three straight Final Fours, but they did it with a recruiting class of players like Russell Westbrook, Jordan Farmar, Aaron Afflalo, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Darren Collison, and Kevin Love. Love was the husky 6’8” power forward who came from L.A. royalty: His uncle was Mike Love of The Beach Boys and his dad Stan played for the Lakers in the 70s. He spent one season at UCLA, where he’s best remembered for his full-court outlet passes like this:
Following that lone collegiate season, Love declared for the NBA Draft and spent the next six years in Minnesota as the successor to Kevin Garnett. But like KG, he was a top 10 player surrounded by subpar players. At least Garnett made it to the Western Conference Finals. By Love’s sixth season, he had still never played in the postseason.
On the other side of the country, the Golden State Warriors, who hired West as an executive board member in 2011, were beginning to sense their fortunes were turning. Risky draft pick Steph Curry was becoming a superstar and West started surrounded him with brilliant drafts picks like Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Harrison Barnes. And while Klay had developed so quickly that he and Curry earned the nickname “The Splash Brothers,” Warriors owner Joe Lacob and general manager Bob Myers wanted to make a big splash to take the team to the next level. So in the summer of 2014, the Warriors reached out to Minnesota with an offer: They’d give up their deadly young shooter for their disgruntled superstar. Coincidentally, the two players were childhood friends who grew up and played little league in the small Oregon town of Lake Oswego.
West would have none of it. He had also known Klay, the son of Showtime Lakers great Mychal Thompson, since he was a boy, and knew he was destined for greatness. West reportedly threatened to resign if the Warriors brass pulled the trigger. Spoiler: Love was traded to Cleveland instead and played against Klay in four straight NBA Finals, with Klay being a key factor to the Warriors winning three of them. And it was all because of West, showing that by jeopardizing his own job, he could be the calming influence that the Warriors’ top brass needed.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Signing Shaquille O’Neal in 1996 - For many people, this would be in the top 5. Nothing against West, but Shaq was going to sign with the Lakers no matter who the GM was at the time. Shaq hated Orlando and was starting both his acting and rap career. He was headed to Los Angeles, no matter what.
Convincing Kawhi Leonard to Join the Clippers - West told a TMZ paparazzo that he “didn’t close the deal” and gets “too much credit” for his role as a Clippers consultant in signing Kawhi. Do I believe him? Yup. As we know by now, Kawhi is going to do what he wants, when he wants. He’s not the type to be convinced by a phone call, even one with a hickory sounding voice on the other end of the line.
Trading for Robert Horry - Horry’s brief tenure in Phoenix ended after he threw a towel at coach Danny Ainge. So West took him off their hands in exchange for Cedric Ceballos. Horry would go on to be a key part of the Lakers threepeat while Ceballos would be traded away by Phoenix the following the season.
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Spicy Egg Nog
½ cup sugar (extra fine)
⅛ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3 eggs, separated
2 cups milk
1 cup half and half
Combine sugar, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a large bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually beat in half of sugar mixture until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks until lemon colored. Gradually beat in remaining sugar mixture to egg yolks. Thoroughly fold in yolk mixture into whites; fold in milk and cream. Top with extra nutmeg when serving.
For my first Jerry West entry, the Lakers legend had me make sangria with an extra kick of vodka. Yet for his egg nog recipe, there was no mention of rum or other alcohol. What gives, Jerry? Do you pretend not to be a lush during the holidays?
I went ahead and added about 7 shots of E&J brandy to this recipe. In my sophomore year of college, my friends and I exclusively drank E&J. If you’re a college student with little cash, a $13.99 (2010 price) fifth of E&J beats plastic bottle handles and similarly priced fifths of Smirnoff or Jose Cuervo any day. Plus, we were all hip hop heads. Of course we’re going to drink Nas and Mobb Deep’s preferred drink of choice.
I ended up making this -- along with coffee cake and pecan tassies that you’ll see in future entries -- for a white elephant party we threw the weekend before Xmas. My cake and tassies were a hit, but I was the only one who drank any of my spiked egg nog. People really hate egg nog, huh? I never tried it until I was 16 and asked my incredulous mom if I could buy some at Vons. I LOVED it. Even without alcohol, it was an amazing drink. I still don’t understand how it’s a punchline for millions of Christians. This drink rules.
