Jerry West left the Golden State Warriors to join the Los Angeles Clippers as an advisor this offseason, but that doesn't mean he has any less respect for the defending champions he helped construct.
In fact, in an interview with Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, West said he believes is "playing for second place" behind the Warriors this season.
Clearly, West still has great affection and interest in the Warriors – he said he’s hoping they win several more titles and declared that the Warriors are so dominant that “everyone’s playing for second place right now.”
“There are too many players there,” West told The Athletic. “They’re all in the prime of their careers. To me the best years of a player’s life are from 28 to 33. I just think that these guys are going to get better as a team.”
So, why did West leave? That's a more complicated matter. He said leaving was "very sad," but that the timing of the move was just right.
"It was time for me to leave. I’m in Los Angeles again. For me, I’ll have a chance to go in the office a little bit and watch some of the people that have been hired, to watch our coaches coach. I’ve often said I’ve done some crazy things in my life because of the timing and maybe the timing was right."
Golden State enters the 2017-18 as the heavy favorites to repeat as NBA champions. BookMaker.eu placed their odds this summer at 64.29 percent, which is obviously more than the other 29 teams combined. Cleveland is second at 28.99 percent, and they're the only two that are over eight percent.
The Warriors will open the year at home against the Houston Rockets in the second game of a TNT doubleheader on Oct. 17, the first night of the season.
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