Lakers

Lakers News: Jerry West Under Investigation for Kawhi Leonard Recruitment

The NBA has announced that it has begun an investigation into Lakers legend Jerry West and the Clippers for the recruitment of Kawhi Leonard. West who has been the team’s consultant since 2017 was accused by a man named Johnny Wilkes for not holding up his part of an oral agreement for helping to recruit Leonard to the Clippers 2019.

Wilkes, who claims to be close with Leonard and a good friend with his uncle Dennis Robertson, filed a lawsuit against West and the Los Angeles Clippers over the fact that they owe him $2.5 million for taking part in Kawhi’s signing. 

While the Clippers and West have denied any such involvement and have labeled Wilkes’ accusations as false, he did provide TMZ Sports with a voicemail from July 1, 2019. He claims the man in the voicemail is Jerry West himself. In the voicemail, you can hear the man acknowledge Wilkes’ help in the recruitment as well as him take a jab at the Lakers organization. 

“Hey there, this is Jerry calling. I really want to thank you a lot for trying to help. I heard this morning that everyone over in the Lakers camp thinks they’re gonna get him. I just find it hard to believe that he would want to go to that s–t show where he would not even be … wouldn’t even get his name in the paper and he wouldn’t be the face of the franchise that’s for sure. He might be the best player on the team, but hope things are well, and again, I really really appreciate everything you’ve done.”

While it may take some time to discover the truth about the situation, Jerry West is undeniably under fire for those words. Lakers fans have already taken offense from a man who was a beloved Laker his whole career.

If the accusations do turn out true, it should spell some harsh consequences for West. Should the NBA remove him from their logo? Should the Lakers unretire his jersey for disrespecting the organization?

How do you all feel about the investigation and West’s comments? Let us know in the comments!

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Adam Salcido

“That is the way this game is -- you win, you lose, you celebrate and you suffer.” -- Vin Scully
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