Jerry West: Lakers Too Old To Be Good For Long
(Ben Golliver/CBSSPORTS.COM) -- Even in retirement, former Los Angeles Lakers guard, coach and GM Jerry West is still regarded as one of the finest talent talent evaluators in the basketball world. When he talks, people listen.
On Friday, West talked, but the franchise he's long been associated with might not like hearing what he had to say.
The Orange County Register reports that West told a business luncheon crowd that the Lakers were getting too old to remain championship contenders for very long and hinted that he would pick LA's chief rivals, the Boston Celtics, to win the NBA title this year.
"I don't think the Lakers will be good for much longer, " he said. "You can keep a car running for a long time by changing the tires, etc. You can't change a player's tires."
West said many of the Lakers' current players are "getting long in the tooth."
"If there's a loose ball now, how often do they get it?" West pointed out to the crowd, which was relishing the sports talk.
"I think Boston is a very dangerous team," he said of the Celtics. "I would not want to play them every other night."
In a study conducted earlier this month by Hoopism.com, both the Lakers and the Celtics placed in the top three oldest teams in the NBA when you weight their age by minutes played.
As of Jan. 8, the Lakers' average age was 30.87 and the Celtics' average age was 30.48, virtually identical.
It's worth noting that Boston's figure should come down slightly once center Kendrick Perkins, who is 26 years old, returns from injury and starts playing heavy minutes again.
Looking into the future, though, it's easy to understand what's troubling West. Guards Kobe Bryant (32) and Derek Fisher (36) are edging close to the twilight of their career.
Fisher, in particular, has seemed to be on his last legs for like six years now, while Bryant figures to have a few very productive seasons left in him.
But it's not just the backcourt: Lakers coach Phil Jackson is said to be retiring after this season and that likely makes everyone associated with the organization feel like the current chapter is coming to a close.
With that said, it's still too early to panic completely.
Los Angeles sports key pieces like Pau Gasol (30), Lamar Odom (31), Ron Artest (31) and Andrew Bynum (23) who are not yet "long in the tooth."
In actuality, Boston may have even more questions in a few years than Los Angeles, with Kevin Garnett (34) contemplating retirement, and Paul Pierce (33) and Ray Allen (35) entering the twilight of their respective careers.
The big difference between Boston and Los Angeles, of course, is that Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo (24) has already solidified himself as the franchise centerpiece of the future. Arguably the best point guard in the NBA, Rondo will make any rebuilding effort that much easier.
The Lakers, however, are left to ride Bryant for as long as possible and then pray that Bynum, who has dealt with knee injuries already in his young career, develops into a premier big man. Backup plan: wait for a dominant free agent to choose to come to LA.
Given the respective outlooks of the two teams, I think most people, like West, would choose Boston's future. Rondo's skill is more than enough to calm the nerves and provide hope.
Hat tip: Pro Basketball Talk
Jerry West will be on CBS2 Sports Central on January 22 at 3pm
