Jerry West readily admits that he hasn't had a major impact on the Warriors in his role as executive board member, but that might be about to change.
"The Logo," a 14-time All-Star as a player and twice the league's Executive of the Year as a general manager, has acted merely as a remote adviser for the Warriors thus far. He says that he'll be a regular in the Bay Area after this weekend's Northern Trust Open charity golf tournament in Southern California, and that the Warriors might be closer to becoming a playoff team than their 9-14 record indicates.
"I'm going to be up here a lot more. I think something can be done here, and it's kind of fun for me," said West, who watches every game on a 60-inch TV from his Bel Air home and talks regularly with general manager Larry Riley, assistant GM Bob Myers and co-owner Joe Lacob. "It's a challenge, but it can happen in a year's time if we can get lucky with a few things."
West doesn't foresee a lot of trades at this season's deadline, thinking most teams will be trying to dump high-salaried players. His focus will be planning for the first full offseason of working with Mark Jackson's coaching staff and the newly structured basketball operations team to identify the franchise's next steps.
In West's opinion, the Warriors need to find a way to keep their lottery pick - top-seven protected this season - because he sees eight difference-making prospects among the draft crop. He also thinks there are plenty of good, young centers in the upcoming free-agent class who could fill the Warriors' most glaring weakness.