The two sides in the current NBA labor negotiations continue to talk in an attempt to come to an agreement over a new contract, but wouldn’t the more prudent game plan for success emphasize less one-on-one and more team play? No doubt compromise will be necessary if there is to be a 2011-12 season. In the meantime, perhaps the league could bring one of the greatest clutch players from its past off the bench here in overtime to help break the tie.
Jerry West may not be the face of the NBA, but he is literally its silhouette. It is his image, after all, that is the league’s logo. West was in the news with today’s release of his autobiography, “West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life.” But back in 2005, in an interview for SportsBusiness Journal, West told me something that is as relevant today as it was then:
“I’ve always felt that players should not be underpaid. Nor do I think that they should be overpaid. I just think that in today’s world, with the agents playing such a prominent [role] and free agency being so important, I think all of us would tend to overpay if we want a free agent. And paying money to players does not make you win. It’s been pretty evident in all sports.
“Does it give you a better chance? You would think it would. But you look out around the league today, and some of the teams with the biggest payrolls have not accomplished very much. I think it’s almost a testament to the agents: They can get people to buy into how great their players are when they might be average players, wanting these average players to make enormous salaries, which a lot of them do.”
Some time later, when I asked West who or what had had the biggest influence in his professional life, a career that included one NBA championship as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers and eight as a front-office executive with the team, he said this:
“Oh, boy. You know, I’ve always been a person who tried to learn something every day. I have some friends who have been very successful away from the basketball arena. And I marvel at the differences in personalities and the incredible instincts that they seem to have for making financial deals and acquiring companies and stuff like that.
“I had a pretty good education working for Jerry Buss for the Lakers when the league was not as prosperous as it is today. Being around him and some of his philosophies and how he viewed you should run a sports franchise… It’s pretty interesting, his philosophy. I learned a lot from him. I learned a lot from a lot of people.”
Maybe the NBA and its players could now tap into that knowledge before it is too late.
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