The Lakers’ 2019 treatment of Jerry West’s son Ryan is something he holds himself accountable for. Jerry West died away earlier this year.
West admitted to ESPN, “I almost wish I had never played or worked for them.”
The Clippers signed Paul George and later Kawhi Leonard, ending the younger West’s tenure with the Lakers.
Jerry West, who joined the squad in 2017, played a significant role in helping the other LA team acquire those two players.
“The Clippers acquired talented swingman Paul George the day after Leonard signed, putting them right back in the running for the championship.
Later that month, on July 27, Ryan, the son of Jerry West, who had worked for the Lakers for ten years, was set to leave the team, according to a report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
“Team sources clarified that Ryan wasn’t departing voluntarily. According to two people with knowledge of the situation, Ryan’s exit was motivated by the idea that the team did not have room for advancement, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN noted.
Jerry had a different perspective.
“They let him go because of me,” West stated a week after his son’s departure.
Having spent more than ten years working there, Ryan was distraught at the moment.
Holmes stated that the senior West saw his son, who is currently employed by the Detroit Pistons as a professional personnel scout, as collateral damage in his conflict with Lakers executives.
For this report, the Lakers declined to comment.
“(The elder) West said he expressed regret to Ryan, calling him ‘devastated.'”
