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West isn't suggesting the Warriors "blow up" their roster just yet. In fact, he's not certain it's even possible right now - though he says he has left trade talks to Riley and Myers to this point. If the Warriors draft a difference-maker in the first round, select a player from a stocked draft pool early in the second and smartly use more than $10 million in salary-cap space this offseason, West thinks they'll have "assets" or "chips" that start opening up more trade talks. "We need more chips, more players, and we'll have the capability next year," he said. "We need to solve our one glaring need at center, and once you have some chips, that's when you can make a trade or shake things up to get something you don't have. It's challenging, but I'm confident that it can be done." San Francisco Chronicle

Golden State Warriors, Jerry West 

Jerry West is plenty busy these days as a consultant for the Golden State Warriors and executive director of the Northern Trust Open, which tees off next Thursday at Riviera Country Club. But he has also kept an eye on the Lakers, the franchise for which he became a Hall of Fame player and, later, general manager. West conceded that many of the Lakers' performances had been "spotty" and "looked like exhibition games," but insisted there were better days ahead. "The Lakers will be very dangerous in the playoffs," he said in a phone interview Thursday with The Times. "They need rest between games. The way they're playing now on the road, they haven't had the kind of success they need. But they're still very capable." Los Angeles Times

Golden State Warriors, Jerry West 

Jerry West on the Warriors job he took in May, which reportedly included stake as a minority owner ... "First of all, you have to consider my title -- advisor -- OK? I've been up there quite a few times, and obviously I communicate with [assistant general manager] Bob [Meyers], [general manager] Larry [Riley] and [owner] Joe [Lacob]. ... I watch all the games, watch the team, try to look for areas where I think there's maybe glaring areas of help needed and try to convey that to everyone up there. "I think you have to be objective, to understand that there's a process to building a team that can endure for a while. And I think it's very obvious to me since I've been there that we need more assets as a team. ... You have owners up there who really want to accomplish something, and they're not going to leave a stone unturned in getting that. But every time we have an opportunity to draft, every time we have an opportunity to sign a free agent that's signable -- and signable means restricted and/or teams that may not match other players offers -- I think we have to do that to create the talent pool up there." SI.com

Golden State Warriors, Jerry West 

According to former Los Angeles Lakers general manager Jerry West, teams needn't worry so much about a superstar demanding to be traded. West, being careful not to mention players by name, alluded to situations like the one the Orlando Magic currently faces with Dwight Howard, saying there's no reason teams should give into those demands. Asked what he would do as a lead executive in a situation where a superstar has made it known he wants out, the ex-Laker executive said it was fairly clear-cut. "I honestly think I'd call their bluff," West said in an interview on 710 ESPN's Mason and Ireland show Thursday, not mentioning Howard specifically. "I really would, because I don't think any agent or player is going to leave $30 million on the table. "I just don't believe that's going to happen." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic, Trade, Dwight Howard, Jerry West 

He cited that as the primary reason he wouldn't comply with a superstar's trade demands. And he also said he wouldn't want a player on his team who didn't want to be there and wouldn't want many of the players that would come back in a deal for a high-salaried superstar. "If I were an executive on a team where a player says he's going to leave, let him leave," West said on 710 ESPN's Max and Marcellus show earlier Thursday. "It would be better than saddling yourself with a bunch of players that are not going to fit in to what you're trying to do -- high-salaried players, in many cases overpaid players by today's standards, that would burden you going forward. "I'd almost rather start over again myself. You're not going to replace that player, but there's an enormous penalty there and it looks like to me like the inmates are running the asylum if you let that happen." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic, Trade, Dwight Howard, Jerry West 

Now working as an executive board member for the Golden State Warriors, West is keenly aware of the changing structure of the modern NBA, where superstars and their agents try to wrestle away the power to arrange deals from the teams themselves. He said that makes executives' jobs tougher, but not impossible. "You're dealing with a superstar and probably a high-profile agent who is trying to put that player's career, maybe, in an ancillary market where there might be more money available to you," West said. "Today, I think, you look at the real punitive damage when a player says, 'I want you to trade me somewhere else.'" "We have an awful lot of players who say I want to go here or I want to go there. And I think that's what takes some of the joy out of the game and particularly fans and cities that have supported teams." ESPN.com

Golden State Warriors, Jerry West 

J. Michael Falgoust: Just finished a convo w/Jerry West, an adviser for #GSWarriors. "We need bigger bodies that do more than they’re doing right now. " #nba Twitter

Golden State Warriors, Jerry West 

At 66-years-old, Pat Riley is eligible for retirement, but Jerry West doesn't believe the Miami Heat president will be going anywhere soon. "I was talking to Pat, and I told him, 'Don't walk away from something,'" West, the Hall of Famer who called Riley his "best friend," said Wednesday in a phone interview with FOX Sports Florida. "I would be shocked if he did (anytime soon). . . If I were him, I would stay there and watch them win championships." FOXSports Florida

Miami Heat, Pat Riley, Jerry West 

Yes, that would plural. West called the Heat, with stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, "absolutely" the best team now in the NBA. And he expects that to continue for years to come. "They've got two of the three best players in the NBA," West said of James and Wade. "I think they can win numerous championships." FOXSports Florida

Miami Heat, Pat Riley, Jerry West 

When asked if Riley is better as a coach or as an executive, West said he's been great at both. He spoke mostly about Riley's ability as an executive because that's what he's doing now. "Pat is able to see things differently," said West, Executive of the Year with the Lakers in 1994-95 and with Memphis in 2003-04. "He can convince players to come and play for his team and be part of a family. . . He's had unbelievable success." FOXSports Florida

Miami Heat, Pat Riley, Jerry West 

In a lockout-shortened season, the Lakers will be short-handed in their front office. The team won't fill the spot vacated by former assistant general manager Ronnie Lester, whose contract expired in July. Lester was integral in evaluating college players and was a solid sounding board for General Manager Mitch Kupchak. The Lakers are also cutting back their scouting department after employing six scouts in July. The team will use a three-man staff partly made up of Jerry West's son Ryan and owner Jerry Buss' son Jesse. Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Mitch Kupchak, Ronnie Lester, Jerry West, Jerry Buss 

Here's one area of disagreement between Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant that won't further fuel the divide between them: debating who deserves to be named the all-time greatest Laker. Bryant has long insisted that Jerry West holds that honor for his role as both a player and a general manager. But O'Neal counters that the recognition should go to Bryant himself. "Based on what he's done, he's probably the greatest Laker of all time,'" O'Neal said of Bryant on KTLA Monday to promote his book, "Shaq Uncut." "If he gets another championship, he'll tie with Kareem. That will put him up there." Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Jerry West 

They found an assistant general manager in Bob Myers, a former sports agent with no sports executive experience, and hired first-time coach Mark Jackson. They talked Rick Welts into becoming the team's president about two weeks after he appeared to have retired from the league, and coaxed Jerry West into joining the executive board. "The hiring of Jerry West might be the single most important thing," Lacob said. "Not only is it what he's going to contribute, but also it was a statement of how serious we are about this. We want to go through every aspect of this organization and improve it." San Francisco Chronicle

Golden State Warriors, Mark Jackson, Jerry West, Bob Myers, Rick Welts 

"Once you deal with someone like Jerry West, you better come up with someone pretty special to keep my attention," O'Neal writes. "Unfortunately, Mitch wasn't that guy for me. We never got along. Mitch looked out for two people: himself and Jerry Buss. The rest of us were afterthoughts." Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Shaquille O'Neal, Mitch Kupchak, Jerry West, Jerry Buss 

Ronnie Lester, the team’s longtime assistant GM groomed by Jerry West, had his say after being laid off back in the summer. Recently, it’s been former assistant coach Brian Shaw who has opened up about Jim’s eagerness to distance the team from the highly successful era of coach Phil Jackson. Clever and coy in dealing with Jim while dating sister Jeanie Buss over the past decade, Jackson upon stepping down last spring finally fired several shots at Jimmy boy. Jackson had long indicated he had no relationship with Jim Buss and not much of one with Jerry, while insiders in the Lakers organization said Jackson obviously had no respect for Jim. Jackson has long been known as a tough political player from his stormy days with the Bulls, but you could hardly blame him for not wanting to kiss up to Jim. HoopsHype

Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson, Ronnie Lester, Brian Shaw, Jerry West, Jeanie Buss, Jim Buss 

Jackson’s friends had long pointed out behind the scenes that Jim was the driving factor in Jackson’s 2004 dismissal as Lakers coach and it was Jim who moved unilaterally to make the disastrous Rudy Tomjanovich hire that cost the team millions. “The Lakers will be a disaster when Phil leaves the franchise,” one of Jackson’s associates predicted a few years back. “Jim’s biggest move is to put his personal bartender on the team payroll. Jim never comes around the franchise, doesn’t even have an office there.” HoopsHype

Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson, Ronnie Lester, Brian Shaw, Jerry West, Jeanie Buss, Jim Buss 

The thing that has made her such a successful business manager of the team is that she works her pretty tail off. That, and she truly loves the Lakers and has been a serious fan for years. “I went into it because I love the Lakers, and when you love the Lakers, you want them to win so badly that you will work tirelessly to make that happen?” she told an interviewer years ago. HoopsHype

Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson, Jerry West, Jeanie Buss, Jim Buss 

Before he signed copies of his new book “West By West, My Tormented Life” at the ESPN Zone in Los Angeles, he told ESPNLosAngeles.com that he didn’t believe his presence would have prevented the messy divorce and that the O’Neal’s trade probably facilitated the team’s last two championships. “I think when you work for Jerry Buss the thing that’s the greatest about him is he’s not afraid to make tough decisions,” West said. “I think Shaquille put himself in a very precarious position with something he said in Hawaii and they moved on and Kobe Bryant was ready to take center stage. “To some degree it was almost like when [Kareem] Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson were here. Abdul-Jabbar abdicated his throne for a player who was in the middle of his prime and I think Shaquille’s personality is completely different than Kobe’s personality and by making a tough decision they were able to win a couple more championships. Obviously here in Los Angeles they want you to win but they want you to win at the very highest level.” ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Jerry Buss 

SLAM: How do you feel about the response your book has received? Jerry West: Well, frankly it’s been pretty amazing to me in terms of people that I’ve heard from who have seen in a little bit different way to their lives. And I’ve heard from some athletes who’ve been fairly prominent and people who have called and said they appreciated it, that I would take it upon myself to talk about some of the issues that I think a lot of athletes face. I’ve gotten responses from people who have been through a lot of different things in life and probably fight the same issues that I fight. SLAM

Jerry West 

SLAM: Where do you go from here? The book is out, you’re doing the media tours. Where do you take it from here? JW: Frankly, when I’m done talking about it, I’m not going to talk about it anymore, okay? It’s part of my life that, revisiting it hasn’t been the most pleasant thing. As I say, I do, a lot of days I get down thinking about scars that I’ve opened by writing a book of this nature. But, more importantly, to tell people that I am human. I’m not what they think I am. I’m flawed. There’s a lot of people who are flawed who, frankly, don’t want anyone to know it. I’ve had so many wonderful things happen to me in my life. A lot of good things and a lot of very hurtful things that are said about you because people, when they try to read what’s in your mind, it’s always surprising some of the things they come up with. And I’ve always felt that even though that creates controversy, it creates conversation. SLAM

Jerry West