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Speaker 1: Welcome to this League Uncut in the rule of twenty

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Speaker 1: four hour NBA News.

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Speaker 2: This's you, Chris Haynes.

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Speaker 1: It's time, works time, It's so time you cut. This

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Speaker 1: League Uncut is underway tend on five. This should be

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Speaker 1: a good one.

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Speaker 3: Everyone, welcome in, Welcome back to the NBA Finals and

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Speaker 3: a new edition of this League Uncut. It is June twelfth,

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Speaker 3: It is the morning of Game three of these NBA Finals.

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Speaker 2: And just have to be upfront with you from the jump.

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Speaker 3: This was We thought this would be a very joyous

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Speaker 3: occasion because Chris Haynes and I were in the same city, which,

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Speaker 3: as you guys know, those of you who listen to

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Speaker 3: this show regularly, you know that it is rare when

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Speaker 3: Chris and I actually get to be together to hang

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Speaker 3: out to cover a game together. And we will do

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Speaker 3: that later tonight. But this is a very sad day

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Speaker 3: in the NBA. There is no way to get around that.

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Speaker 3: Early this morning, we got the news from the Clippers.

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Speaker 3: Jerry West, the one and only Jerry West, the logo

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Speaker 3: who has been working as a Clippers consultant for the

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Speaker 3: past several seasons. The Clippers announced that at the age

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Speaker 3: of eighty six. Jerry West passed away earlier today, peacefully

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Speaker 3: with wife Karen at his side. But we are talking

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Speaker 3: about one of the absolute giants of this game for

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Speaker 3: decades and decades and decades, long before Chris or I

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Speaker 3: started covering this league. And I can honestly say I

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Speaker 3: covered Jerry West as a Lakers beat writer. I was

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Speaker 3: there when, in the same summer he was able to

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Speaker 3: draft Kobe Bryant and sign Shaquille O'Neill just weeks later

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Speaker 3: what is probably still regarded as the greatest off season

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Speaker 3: an NBA executive, and maybe any sports team executive has

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Speaker 3: ever had to be able to make those two moves

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Speaker 3: in such a short span. And so I've been covering

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Speaker 3: him for a long time. I know, Chris, you got

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Speaker 3: to cover him when you were embedded with the Warriors

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Speaker 3: and Jerry was a Warriors executive.

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Speaker 2: But I mean, I can just tell you.

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Speaker 3: There's nobody in the league who I looked forward to

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Speaker 3: speaking to more than Jerry West, especially as he got older.

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Speaker 2: The care factor, the.

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Speaker 3: Competitiveness, the intensity as he got older, the candor. I mean,

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Speaker 3: I could go on and on and on, but just

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Speaker 3: getting to speak to him and unfiltered Jerry West was

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Speaker 3: a true treat And you know, we're doing this pod

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Speaker 3: about two hours later than we thought we would because

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Speaker 3: I frankly needed some time to try to figure out

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Speaker 3: what to say, because obviously Jerry was in his eighties,

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Speaker 3: he was in ill health. But nothing prepares you for

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Speaker 3: the loss of a legend like this. And Bill Walton

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Speaker 3: just passed away a couple of weeks ago, and now

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Speaker 3: we lose Jerry West, and it is it's just.

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Speaker 2: Tremendously sad.

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Speaker 4: No, indeed, it is, you know, and rest in peace

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Speaker 4: to Jerry West, and give our condoless to family and friends,

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Speaker 4: close friends of Jerry.

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Speaker 5: He was a.

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Speaker 4: He was an incredible individual. I enjoyed my time being

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Speaker 4: around him. As you mentioned Steinwn covering the warriors. And

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Speaker 4: you know, Star I grew up. I grew up around

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Speaker 4: a lot of senior citizens. I had them in my

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Speaker 4: family and my churches. And you know, you have some

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Speaker 4: youngsters who despise listening to the old stories from from

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Speaker 4: your elder statesman, and I was the opposite.

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Speaker 5: Always. I always like hearing the stories.

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Speaker 4: I like hearing how life seems so simple back in

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Speaker 4: the day, you know, just to have the way they

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Speaker 4: used to navigate this a life that was viewed and

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Speaker 4: told as so much more simple than what we live

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Speaker 4: in the modern era. And so I've always enjoyed, you know,

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Speaker 4: hearing stories from the elders. Jerry West was definitely somebody

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Speaker 4: that I always gravitated towards, because once you got to

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Speaker 4: spend some time with him, once gave you time, you

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Speaker 4: didn't know what he was going to say, and you

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Speaker 4: didn't know how he was going to say it. You know,

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Speaker 4: you you talked about Jerry West being candid, you know,

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Speaker 4: you know, I think we all when you get a

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Speaker 4: certain age, you start speaking speaking more of your mind,

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Speaker 4: like you.

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Speaker 5: Give less fucks. And that was definitely Jerry. And the more.

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Speaker 4: Accomplished life you have, the more experiences you have in life,

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Speaker 4: the more interactions you have with a different group of people,

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Speaker 4: that tends to lend to having more stories and just

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Speaker 4: having these incredible, incredible times in these periods in which

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Speaker 4: you can tell And that was Jerry. And there were

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Speaker 4: times I find myself talking to him seeking information, you know,

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Speaker 4: seeking information on the Warriors or the NBA or whatever,

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Speaker 4: and next thing, you know, you didn't spend thirty minutes.

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Speaker 4: He's talking about the old locker room and you know,

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Speaker 4: being pissed at winning one championship.

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Speaker 5: And all he had to go through. The It was

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Speaker 5: just man, he was just incredible.

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Speaker 4: Man. I'm going to miss those conversations. He's definitely one

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Speaker 4: of the pillars of the NBA. He's the logo for

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Speaker 4: a reason. Eight championships as an executive one, as a player,

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Speaker 4: very much accomplished basketball executive ranks.

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Speaker 5: Just a cool, polarizing person.

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Speaker 4: Man, And I'm going to miss those conversations for sure.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and look, he stopped playing shortly before I can

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Speaker 3: really say that I became an NBA fan, So I.

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Speaker 2: Didn't get to see him play.

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Speaker 3: Only I've watched highlights and you know, seen lots of clips.

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Speaker 3: But I mean, he he was. He just did everything.

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Speaker 3: He was a textbook player. He was a two way player.

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Speaker 3: People didn't talk enough about what a rugged and effective

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Speaker 3: defender he was. But shooting the ball, dribbling the ball,

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Speaker 3: I mean, he just did it in absolute textbook fashion.

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Speaker 3: But I did get to cover Jerry the executive very

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Speaker 3: very closely.

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Speaker 2: And look we are talking about.

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Speaker 3: He was openly anguished and tormented his whole life. He

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Speaker 3: did a book in twenty eleven with Jonathan Coleman, and

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Speaker 3: the book is called West by West My Charmed Tormented Life.

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Speaker 3: I mean this is someone he was tightly wound, tortured perfectionist.

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Speaker 3: He openly said that it was really hard for him

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Speaker 3: to find satisfaction, but that just kept driving him.

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Speaker 2: He was just never satisfied.

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Speaker 3: And as an executive he won everything as an executive

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Speaker 3: that eluded him as a players said he only won

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Speaker 3: one championship as a player, made the finals nine times,

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Speaker 3: lost eight and that after a very difficult childhood upbringing.

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Speaker 3: I mean that shaped him in ways that he would

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Speaker 3: say he couldn't even control. He was very open about

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Speaker 3: depression and his demons, but just the Jerry I knew,

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Speaker 3: like he was just so driven to win.

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Speaker 2: Nothing was enough. But I would also.

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Speaker 3: Say in public, you know, he carried himself in this

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Speaker 3: regal fashion.

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Speaker 2: I mean he was always.

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Speaker 3: Dressed, immaculately, hair never out of place. I can remember

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Speaker 3: the All Star Game in Cleveland twenty twenty two when

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Speaker 3: the NBA that was the All Star weekend, when the

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Speaker 3: NBA announced its seventy five team, the seventy five greatest

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Speaker 3: players in league history, and I was staying in the

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Speaker 3: same hotel as a lot of the NBA alumni, the

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Speaker 3: older players who were going to be celebrated as part

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Speaker 3: of this. I can still see Jerry walking into that

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Speaker 3: hotel lobby and just everything stopped. I mean, he was

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Speaker 3: just absolutely magnetic. And you know, again just we're talking

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Speaker 3: about one of the giants, giants of.

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Speaker 2: The game, and.

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Speaker 3: Like I said, I'm kind of a scattered mess this morning,

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Speaker 3: because you know I was. I really feel fortunate that

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Speaker 3: when I broke into the league in the nineties, first

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Speaker 3: I was a Clippers beat writer for two years, and

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Speaker 3: then I was a Lakers beat writer for two years.

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Speaker 3: So I didn't get to see Algin Baylor play and

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Speaker 3: I didn't get to see Jerry West play. And in

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Speaker 3: those days, I've told this story that when I started

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Speaker 3: in the nineties, just even getting highlights of those guys

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Speaker 3: was so hard. The history of the game in the fifties, sixties,

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Speaker 3: the seventies, it.

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Speaker 2: Wasn't preserved well.

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Speaker 3: So I remember when I got on the Clipper beat,

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Speaker 3: I said, do you guys have.

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Speaker 2: Any footage of Elgin Baylor?

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Speaker 3: And the Clippers actually called the league and asked the

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Speaker 3: league to put together an Elgin Baylor highlight reel. Just

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Speaker 3: so I could see it, just so I could get

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Speaker 3: a better feel for it. So to cover Elgin as

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Speaker 3: the Clippers GM, and then to cover Jerry as the

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Speaker 3: Lakers GM. In my first few years covering the league,

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Speaker 3: I mean, it was it was really an education. And look,

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Speaker 3: I think you probably remember this when the HBO series

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Speaker 3: Winning Time came out.

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Speaker 2: I know you remember this, and I was certainly not alone.

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Speaker 3: A lot of us really were bothered by the portrayal

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Speaker 3: of Jerry West because, yes, in private, he certainly had

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Speaker 3: a temper and would certainly erupt on you on occasion.

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Speaker 2: And I think.

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Speaker 3: Every Beat writer who covered the Lakers has that kind

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Speaker 3: of story. But they portrayed West as violently angry in public,

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Speaker 3: and it was just like in public, Jerry West was

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Speaker 3: again like royalty walking into a room. He wasn't like that,

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Speaker 3: you He would never show that side in public. And

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Speaker 3: the other thing that just bothered me so much about it,

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Speaker 3: Jerry West was such a decisive executive and he made decisions.

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Speaker 2: Hard decisions.

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Speaker 5: You know.

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Speaker 3: Again, my first experience writing about the NBA was writing

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Speaker 3: about the Lakers drafting Vlade Devots in nineteen eighty nine,

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Speaker 3: and you know, Jerry was the one in that Laker

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Speaker 3: front office. He was obviously the lead decision maker, but

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Speaker 3: that was his call. The other voices in the Lakers

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Speaker 3: organization were not saying, let's draft Vlade Devots from Europe,

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Speaker 3: a player none of us have really seen. But that

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Speaker 3: was Jerry's call. Jerry had the gumption to do it,

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Speaker 3: and those were the kind of moves that he made.

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Speaker 3: And just I just remember when the HBO show came out,

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Speaker 3: so many people were so upset by the way West

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Speaker 3: was portrayed, because you know, he was not this rage

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Speaker 3: aholic in public.

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Speaker 2: You know, he still.

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Speaker 3: Moved as just gracefully as he did as a player.

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Speaker 3: And so, like I said, I can go on and

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Speaker 3: on and on, I have to say that, like I'm

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Speaker 3: I'm going to try to gather my thoughts here. You know,

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Speaker 3: we've got this finals game tonight and the series is

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Speaker 3: in my city. But you know, I am definitely going

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Speaker 3: to when I can step back and write a more

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Speaker 3: polished tribute to Jerry, because, like I said, I've been

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Speaker 3: doing this for more than thirty seasons myself, and in

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Speaker 3: all that time, there is literally no one I more

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Speaker 3: looked forward to speaking with than Jerry West. A conversation

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Speaker 3: with him. Was that absorbing and entertaining.

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Speaker 4: You know, you brought up that that All Star weekend

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Speaker 4: a few years ago. What was it Cleveland? I believe

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Speaker 4: it was in Cleveland.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Cleveland was the Yeah, All NBA seventy five All NBA.

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Speaker 4: So I was the couple of things. I was one

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Speaker 4: of the lone reporters that had access that the NBA

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Speaker 4: gave access to be in the backstage.

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Speaker 2: Which I am extremely jealous of extra. I mean, don't

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Speaker 2: get me started on that Stein.

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Speaker 4: That was a That was an experience, man, that was

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Speaker 4: an experience that It was actually the first time I

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Speaker 4: was in the same room with Michael Jordan.

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Speaker 5: I was I've never met Michael Jordan until that day.

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Speaker 4: And just being around those guys seventy five, being around

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Speaker 4: the legends, and you know, Dame made the team as well,

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Speaker 4: you know, you know, so that was just a cool

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Speaker 4: experience to be around all those iconic figures. But that

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Speaker 4: All Star weekend was the last time that I had

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Speaker 4: an extended conversation with Jerry West.

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Speaker 5: Do you remember Stein? We did T and T. It

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Speaker 5: was pretty cool too.

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Speaker 4: We did a it was like a draft drafting of

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Speaker 4: the top seventy five players.

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Speaker 5: It was only the top seventy five players, and.

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Speaker 4: They were there were teams as symbol like it was

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Speaker 4: a team of Chuck the inside.

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Speaker 2: The Yeah, I remember that.

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Speaker 4: It was me and Shams on teams together. It was

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Speaker 4: Dominique Wilkins had had a team.

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Speaker 5: It was a draft. We all picked.

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Speaker 2: You got the GM with Jerry West.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, that was but the thing he stole the show.

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Speaker 4: So I would encourage people to go go back and

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Speaker 4: check out that show redrafting of the top seventy five players.

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Speaker 4: And what I mean by Jerry West still in the show,

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Speaker 4: he had all these iconic stories. You know, he talked

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Speaker 4: about rating for Kobe Bryant, you know, getting the rights

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Speaker 4: to trade for Kobe Bryant, and what went into that

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Speaker 4: Magic Johnson, the stories he had about Magic Johnson, Like

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Speaker 4: he was the star of the show, which is very

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Speaker 4: hard to do when the show cast consists of Charles Barkley.

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Speaker 5: Jerry West stole the show. He was the star of

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Speaker 5: that show. So please y'all go check that out. Man.

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Speaker 4: Jerry dropped some legendary gems. He was just he was

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Speaker 4: just himself, man. So that was a great time. That

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Speaker 4: was actually the last time that again, I was able

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Speaker 4: to have a conversation with him extensively, and so I

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Speaker 4: appreciate being able to have that.

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Speaker 5: Moment with him.

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Speaker 3: I know that as soon as I get the chance,

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Speaker 3: I'm going to take a step back, as I said,

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Speaker 3: and put together a proper written tribute to the man.

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Speaker 3: But you know, again, I was so looking forward to tonight.

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Speaker 3: This is the first Finals game in Dallas since twenty eleven.

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Speaker 3: I didn't get to cover the first two games of

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Speaker 3: the series in Boston, and you just got here and

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Speaker 3: I was so psyched to see you later tonight and

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Speaker 3: cover this game. But honestly, now I'm really thinking of

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Speaker 3: what is it going to be like when the NBA

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Speaker 3: does that moment of silence tonight, and I just this

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Speaker 3: just I had similar feelings. I was away in London

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Speaker 3: when Bill Walton passed away, and that was the first

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Speaker 3: thing I thought of when I knew I was going

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Speaker 3: to miss the next game. I really wanted to be

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Speaker 3: in the arena for that moment. It's both I want

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Speaker 3: to be in the arena for the moment, but I'm

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Speaker 3: also a little bit afraid about losing my composure on

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Speaker 3: press row because again for me, personally. I don't want

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Speaker 3: to make this about me, but it's I think it's

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Speaker 3: hard when we lose figures like this, just legends of

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Speaker 3: the game. It's hard not to think about what they

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Speaker 3: meant to you personally and how your interactions were with them.

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Speaker 3: And I've always said, like, I just feel so lucky

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Speaker 3: having to be able to do this for the past

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Speaker 3: three decades that I didn't get to see Bill Walton

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Speaker 3: at his best, I didn't get to see Jerry West

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Speaker 3: at his playing best, but to get the chance to

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Speaker 3: cover them for so long in their post playing careers,

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Speaker 3: and obviously Bill Walton had such an impact as a broadcaster.

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Speaker 2: And look, Jerry West.

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Speaker 3: I've always said this, and you could fill the debate

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Speaker 3: shows for hours with this one, but Jerry West might

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Speaker 3: be the greatest Laker we've ever seen. And that's a

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Speaker 3: big thing to say when you're talking about a franchise

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Speaker 3: that featured Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neil

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Speaker 3: and Wilt Chamberlain for a spell and all the Laker

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Speaker 3: greats that we can go.

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Speaker 2: On on and on and on about.

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Speaker 3: But Jerry did it as both a player and as

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Speaker 3: an executive and he only won the one championship as

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Speaker 3: a player because he and Algend Baylor, another Lakers legend,

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Speaker 3: they had to deal with the buzz saw that was

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Speaker 3: the Bill Russell Celtics. But for Jerry, he tried coaching

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Speaker 3: but found his calling as a front office person and

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Speaker 3: the championship teams he built as an executive. And again

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Speaker 3: nineteen ninety six, a much younger and much skinnier Mark

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Speaker 3: Stein Laker beat writer in the press conference and they

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Speaker 3: work the draft day trade to get Kobe Bryant. A

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Speaker 3: few weeks later, they complete the signing of Shaquille O'Neil

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Speaker 3: away from the Orlando Magic. I don't know that any

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Speaker 3: front office executive in any sport is ever going to

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Speaker 3: have a better offseason than when Jerry West was able

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Speaker 3: to bring both Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neil to Lakerland.

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Speaker 3: So it certainly gives him a claim in the argument

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Speaker 3: to greatest Laker of all time. It's going to be

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Speaker 3: Magic for a lot of Laker fans. It's going to

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Speaker 3: be Kobe for a lot of Laker fans, younger Laker fans.

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Speaker 3: But I mean, Jerry West was and enduring force of

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Speaker 3: nature before you or I were even born. Man, we

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Speaker 3: had all kinds of plans for this podcast previewing Game four.

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Speaker 3: I know people want to talk about the Lakers coaching search.

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Speaker 3: I am admittedly struggling to think about anything else right now.

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Speaker 2: I'm just being honest with you.

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Speaker 5: Yes, it's a tough time, you know.

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Speaker 4: I'm looking at the statements that are being released by

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Speaker 4: several teams and individuals. You know, Adam Silver, the commissioner

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Speaker 4: in released the statement as well.

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Speaker 2: Did you see what Michael Jordan said.

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Speaker 5: I'm gonna reader Stein quote.

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Speaker 4: I am so deeply satin at the news of Jerry's passing.

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Speaker 4: He was truly a friend and mentor, like an older

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Speaker 4: brother to me. I valued his friendship and knowledge. I

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Speaker 4: always wish I could have played against him as a competitor,

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Speaker 4: but the more I came to know him, I wish

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Speaker 4: I had been a teammate. I admired his basketball insights,

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Speaker 4: and he and I shared many similarities to how we

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Speaker 4: approach the game. He will be forever missed. My condolences

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Speaker 4: to his wife, Karen and his sons. Rest in peace logo. Yeah,

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Speaker 4: that speaks volumes right there.

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Speaker 3: When Michael Jordan offers that level of praise, I think

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Speaker 3: that tells you.

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Speaker 5: Yes, it speaks volumes, you know.

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Speaker 4: Like I said, we're getting figures like Michael Jordan, Adam

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Speaker 4: Silver issuing statements, teams issuing statements. The Lakers, who we know,

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Speaker 4: you know, he had it ended up having a strained

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Speaker 4: relationship with that organization. They have yet to issue a statement,

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Speaker 4: but they did tweet honoring the legendary Jerry West and

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Speaker 4: just put a picture of him with the the year

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Speaker 4: was born and the year he passed. So be interested

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Speaker 4: to see what they do moving forward, because we know

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Speaker 4: they you know, it was kind of a rocky road

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Speaker 4: towards the end for those two.

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Speaker 3: You mentioned that strained relationship with the Lakers, and there's

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Speaker 3: no question that in recent years there was a complete

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Speaker 3: breakdown in Jerry's relationship with the Lakers, which is just

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Speaker 3: so difficult to process still because he's meant so much

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Speaker 3: to that franchise. But obviously he was a consultant and

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Speaker 3: part of a championship brain trust in Golden State. Steve

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Speaker 3: Balmer went all out to bring Jerry to the Clippers,

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Speaker 3: and the Clippers obviously have not won a championship to

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Speaker 3: match Golden State, but Balmer brought Jerry into the Clippers'

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Speaker 3: front office in hopes that his wisdom and experience could

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Speaker 3: help them finally break through and win it all. In

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Speaker 3: twenty eighteen, I was assigned to write a long piece

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Speaker 3: on Jerry for the New York Times, and that was

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Speaker 3: at the end or approaching the end of his first

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Speaker 3: season with the Clippers, And that was a story that

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Speaker 3: meant a lot to me to go to La and

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Speaker 3: spend some time with him and chronicle that move to

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Speaker 3: the Clippers. But there's so much we could and should

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Speaker 3: and thought we'd be talking about in this podcast today.

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Speaker 3: Obviously the Finals, the Celtics are up two to zero,

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Speaker 3: the series shifts now to Dallas. We're not sure if

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Speaker 3: Christaps Porzingis is going to play in this Game three,

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Speaker 3: so a huge game in.

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Speaker 2: The series tonight.

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Speaker 3: And obviously the Lakers coaching search and their inability to

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Speaker 3: convince Dan Hurley to leave Yukon. There is so much

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Speaker 3: we could be talking about on those fronts. But on

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Speaker 3: the Finals front, we're so close to Game three game

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Speaker 3: time now, we're gonna come back tomorrow or Friday with

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Speaker 3: a podcast before Game four. That just makes more sense,

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Speaker 3: I think for us to be able to react to

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Speaker 3: where the series is instead of saying a bunch of

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Speaker 3: stuff now that might be invalidated by what happens in

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Speaker 3: this game three and depending on whether porzingis played. And again,

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Speaker 3: I know there's great interest in the state of the

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Speaker 3: Lakers coaching search, and we will get into all that

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Speaker 3: next time, because it just I gotta be honest, man,

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Speaker 3: it just doesn't feel right to try to pay tribute

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Speaker 3: to the logo a legend, a player, coach executive of

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Speaker 3: Jerry west stature, and then to transition to the coaching

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Speaker 3: search that his former franchise is going to.

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Speaker 2: That's all over the map right now.

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Speaker 3: So I think those topics we can get back to

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Speaker 3: them in the next pod. They'll still obviously both the

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Speaker 3: finals and the Lakers coaching search will be ongoing, and

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Speaker 3: we can get into those then. But I hope you

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Speaker 3: guys can understand to me, and I think, Chris, I

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Speaker 3: hope you agree with me.

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Speaker 2: I think you agree with me.

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Speaker 3: It just doesn't feel doesn't feel easy to transition into

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Speaker 3: strict basketball matters right now.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, there's a time and place, and right now I

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Speaker 4: think the time is for us to mourn the loss

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Speaker 4: and remember and give our proper tributes and condolencence to

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Speaker 4: the family.

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Speaker 5: Of Jeri West.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely well said condolences to Karen, to everyone in the family.

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Speaker 3: We both know, Johnny and Ryan, both executives in today's NBA.

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Speaker 3: Just hurting for everyone who knew and loved Jerry West

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Speaker 3: and for basketball fans everywhere because what he meant to

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Speaker 3: this league. There are just few individuals who have contributed

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Speaker 3: as much to this game, to this sport, to this

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Speaker 3: league as the one and only Jerry West.

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Speaker 2: Everyone.

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Speaker 3: Thanks a mil for joining us on this. I know

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Speaker 3: it turned out to be a very melancholy edition of

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Speaker 3: this League Uncut.

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Speaker 2: Appreciate your understanding. I hope you.

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Speaker 3: Enjoyed with us though, reminiscing in some of the stories

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Speaker 3: we've told about Jerry West because he was such an

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Speaker 3: iconic figure in this game. Chris and I, as I said,

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Speaker 3: we are in the same city for the next two

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Speaker 3: games the next few nights, so we will be back

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Speaker 3: together again very soon here on this league uncut to

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Speaker 3: get into everything going on in the series, update you

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Speaker 3: on this crazy Lakers coaching search. We will do all

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Speaker 3: of that next time. Thanks again for listening. We will

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Speaker 3: be back with you very very soon