Jerry West is one of the biggest legends in the entire history of the NBA. Firstly, he is the league's logo. Overall, that is a huge honor, and it seems like the league has no plans of changing this fact, anytime soon. Moreover, West is someone who has had a ton of success as a builder in the sport. Of course, he helped construct the three-peat Los Angeles Lakers who boasted the talents of Kobe Bryant, Shaq, and many more. Additionally, he is now in charge of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Recently, he got to spend some time with one of his players, Paul George. Overall, this was for George's podcast, Podcast P. During the conversation, Jerry West had an incredible revelation about his time with the Memphis Grizzlies. As it turns out, in 2004, Kobe Bryant expressed his desire to join the Grizzlies. However, despite being the team's GM, West advised against it. Ultimately, he wanted Bryant to play in Los Angeles, as he believed that's where he belonged.
Jerry West Speaks
“He became a free agent. Ok? And he called me and his agent then was Rob Pelinka," Jerry West began. "And so I met them in Orange County in a hotel room and he said he wanted to come to Memphis and play basketball. And I looked at him, I said, are you kidding me? And he said no, and I said, ‘Kobe, no, no. You know, it’s just you belong somewhere out here.’ And even though he would have never played there, I just want to reassure him that don’t feel like you have any obligation with me or the Grizzlies to play here and because he would have never played there, it wasn’t gonna happen.”
Had Kobe Bryant gone to Memphis, it would have completely changed the NBA. However, he stayed in L.A., much to the delight of Lakers fans. If you are a Grizzlies supporter, you must be hating Jerry West right now. However, we doubt the legend actually cares. Let us know what you think about all of this, in the comments section down below.