The Los Angeles Clippers offseason has already gotten off to a great start as they have already made two important moves for the franchise. They managed to lure special consultant and NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West from the Golden State Warriors to serve the same role them. Owner Steve Ballmer has been adamant about getting the Clippers their own stadium and it now appears that he is one step closer towards achieving that goal in Inglewood.
Getting Jerry West is an important first step
Jerry West is best known for being a Hall of Fame NBA player for the Los Angeles Lakers, but his time as a front office executive and special consultant are equally impressive.
During his run as Lakers executive from 1982-00, the team made the playoffs 18 times in 19 years. They made the NBA Finals eight times, going 4-4. He also won NBA Executive of the Year in 1994-95. As an executive of the Memphis Grizzlies, he made the playoffs three times in five years and won NBA Executive of the Year in 2003-04. The Golden State Warriors hired West in 2011 as a special consultant. They made the playoffs five times and won the NBA Finals twice.
By acquiring West, the Los Angeles Clippers get a man with an impressive track record at knowing the game of basketball. West has been known to make great personal decisions, from drafting the likes of Kobe Bryant and James Worthy to trading for Shaquille O'Neal.
He is also been cited as playing a major role in not trading Klay Thompson for Kevin Love and getting Kevin Durant to come to the Warriors.
The Clippers future home?
Yesterday, the Inglewood City Council unanimously approved an exclusive negotiating agreement for the development of a state-of-the-art NBA arena for the Los Angeles Clippers on a 22-acre plot of land owned by the city.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, who is the richest sports owner in the world at an estimated $30 billion, plans to fully pay for the 18,000 to 20,000 seat arena with his own money.
The site of this arena would be located only 22 acres south of where the Los Angeles Rams are building their new $2.6 billion stadium on what will be a 298-acre sports and entertainment district. With the agreement being passed the Clippers now have a three-year window to finished an environmental review and other inspections before the project can move forward. This means the stadium will not break ground anytime soon, especially with the Clippers lease in Staples Center running through June 2024.
