Jerry West

Once the finality settled in, the emotions overwhelmed Jerry West. He labored all season to determine whether he could clear enough cap space to acquire Shaquille O'Neal. Finally, that moment came. West compared the experience to the birth of his children. Securing O'Neal to a seven-year, $120-million deal tilted the NBA's balance in the Lakers' favor. West envisioned O'Neal bringing two things that the Lakers value -- a Hollywood personality and NBA championships. Yet West's perfectionist nature didn't allow him to fully enjoy the moment.

On farewell day, they waved until their hands hurt. Kobe Bryant pleaded for Lakers management to pay millions to Dwight Howard, millions to Pau Gasol, millions for the luxury tax, anything to keep the Lakers together for the final year of his contract. "It's a lot on the table for them . . . it's a tough call to make," Bryant said. "But then again, it is one more year . . . it's one more year. " Mitch Kupchak confirmed the Lakers still want to re-sign Howard, then pleaded for him to make his decision quickly so they can figure out if they can keep Kobe happy.

The wins kept coming. So did the games. Three in a row. Five in six days. It didn't matter that the rest of the NBA, and the calendar, conspired against the Lakers 41 seasons ago. Logistics couldn't bother them in a season when they didn't seem to grasp the meaning of Ls. The team that would win 33 consecutive games, still the longest streak for a major U.S. professional team, often arrived in a city on a midday flight and played a...

This talk of whether the Lakers should re-sign Dwight Howard is a no-brainer. D12 is the superstar the Lakers need to build their future on. Fans and the media have been too hard on a guy recovering from serious back surgery, forced to take a back seat to Kobe, trying to perform in the wrong system while being coached by the wrong coach and all the while trying to live up to Shaq-sized expectations. We all better give him a break or he will take the first offer out of town and leave the Lakers and us fans holding the bag. Gino Cirignano Playa del Rey :: Advice to Dwight Howard: Move on. The Lakers are not the team for you, at least not now. You are a very good player but not a leader like Chris Paul to the Clippers.

Thank you for the refreshing piece on Jerry West, the Lakers and their front office. Mark Rowland did a terrific job delivering the passion and politics behind the scenes of basketball's greatest team. JILL BENJAMIN Venice

Former Lakers star and general manager Jerry West told ESPNNewYork.com he's still confident in his former team. "I believe they're going to make the playoffs," West said of the Lakers (23-26).  "Look out West, there are some teams two or three games over .500, so they can do it. " Of course those comments came before Tuesday night's victory over the Brooklyn Nets in which Pau Gasol went down with a foot injury. The results of a MRI scheduled for Wednesday have yet to be released.

Jerry West The Life and Legend of a Basketball Icon Roland Lazenby ESPN: 448 pp., $28

Who's to argue with Jerry West ? … West tells FoxSports Radio that Kobe Bryant is playing "the best basketball I have ever seen him play." … Bryant already has cemented his place among the NBA's all-time elite, but vanquishing Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics would of course greatly augment his legacy. … In a USA Today poll asking if another championship would put Bryant on the same level as Michael Jordan , only 5% of respondents agreed with "Kobe is already better than Jordan," while 42% said "Kobe is great, Jordan is greatest" and 27% said, "Kobe is not even in the top three all time."

No one ever accused Jerry West of shooting too much. . . . While scoring more points than any player in franchise history other than Kobe Bryant , West led the Lakers in shot attempts only four times in 14 seasons. . . . Bryant, leading the Lakers in shots for the 10th consecutive season, is on pace to lead the NBA for the fourth time in five. . . . Surprisingly, though, Mr. Clutch hoisted shots at about the same rate as Bryant, averaging more than 20 a game. . . . Bryant, since becoming a starter, has averaged 21. . . . In a USA Today poll asking readers to pick a favorite between Bryant and LeBron James , 56% opted for James, 28% picked Bryant and 11% refused to choose.

If the Lakers make the playoffs, which looks more and more likely, Jerry West has an idea of how they'd do. "I definitely wouldn't want to play them, I know that," West said on a conference call with reporters Thursday. "I think they'd have a chance against anyone. " West, a Hall of Fame player for the Lakers and now an executive with Golden State, said there were certain teams the Lakers (36-33) wouldn't want to play. Oklahoma City and San Antonio weren't mentioned. "I think if the Lakers would have their preference, they probably wouldn't want to play Denver.

Balloons in the Clippers' colors were hanging on Laker legend statues before the Clippers played the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. When the news hit Twitter that the likenesses of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West and Chick Hearn had red and blue balloons attached to their limbs, Lakers fans were not pleased. The balloon prank wasn't the only jab that Clippers Nation took at the Lakers. Before the Clippers game, Coach Vinny Del Negro was asked if the Lakers have a chance against the Spurs in another first-round series.

Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant will be out six to nine months because of a torn left Achilles' tendon, according to doctors. Of course, Bryant is 34 and has spent 17 years in the NBA. He may never be the same player again. Which is why the idea of waiving Bryant under the NBA's one-time "amnesty" provision has been tossed around -- although not among anyone in the Lakers organization, General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. Bryant is one of four players on the roster whom the Lakers would be allowed to cut without paying luxury taxes on his salary. If the Lakers waived Bryant, they would still have to pay his $30.5 salary for next season but would save up to $80 million in luxury taxes.

The Lakers hadn't played in days but gained some ground on Utah. If only the rest of their season had been this easy. Their playoff lives, though, might boil down to the place they originated. The Minnesota Timberwolves (28-46) could be a key to their collecting the $194,016 playoff share pocketed by teams advancing to the first round. Utah plays Minnesota twice - at home April 12 and at Minnesota on April 15. New Lakers refrain: Go Timberwolves? Pau Gasol is good friends with Minnesota guard Ricky Rubio.

The moment was perfect. The jersey wasn't. On Tuesday night the Lakers retired Shaquille O'Neal's jersey, but they overlooked one not-so-minor detail: O'Neal's name is stretched across the front of a Lakers home jersey instead of the back. "The oversight will be corrected and a new jersey put up as soon as possible," Lakers spokesman John Black said Wednesday. PHOTOS: Lakers retire Shaquille O'Neal's No. 34 jersey A close look at O'Neal's jersey reveals a V-shape neckline associated with the front as opposed to the more rounded one for the back like the other jerseys around hung at Staples Center for Lakers legends Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Gail Goodrich and Jamaal Wilkes.

It was a two-for-one celebration, the Lakers honoring an all-time great while rejoicing in the active legend on their roster. On the same night that Shaquille O'Neal's jersey was unveiled in the rafters at Staples Center, Kobe Bryant again showed why he will one day join his former teammate in lofty territory. Bryant played all but 56 seconds and logged a triple-double Tuesday during the Lakers' had-to-have-it 101-81 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. He finished with 23 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds, helping the wobbly-legged Lakers prevail on a night they used only seven players before the final minute.

If Shaquille O'Neal needed a nickname on his first day as a Laker, it could have been the Big Worrywart. As dominant as he was, the best big man in the NBA recognized he represented just a fraction of the Lakers centers who had come before him. George Mikan won six titles while becoming Mr. Basketball. Wilt Chamberlain won two titles (one as a Laker) and scored 100 points in a game. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won six titles (five as a Laker) and was the league's all-time leading scorer.

In his first year as executive director of the Northern Trust Open, Jerry West said he had a new appreciation for both the talent of golfers and the perseverance of golf fans. West said Sunday that he understood the nerves of tournament winner Steve Stricker , who had seemed uncomfortable having a six-shot lead going into the final 18 holes. "It's different when you're part of a team sport," basketball legend West said. "You get a lead in basketball and it seems a lot easier to really kick some butt."

The Lakers retired Shaquille O'Neal's No. 34 jersey at halftime on Tuesday as the team hosted the Dallas Mavericks. "The most gifted specimen I've ever seen play this game," said Kobe Bryant in a prepared video.  "Historical, the run we had together. " Former Lakers coach Phil Jackson spoke next (to a Staples Center crowd chanting "We want Phil"), reminiscing about the fun times he had with O'Neal and the Lakers. "How much fun we had, the wins, the titles," said Jackson.

MIAMI AT SAN ANTONIO: Sunday, 4 p.m. PDT. TV: None. Jerry West and Gail Goodrich may be resting easy, but LeBron James and Dwyane Wade certainly aren't. Now that the Miami Heat can no longer threaten the 1971-72 Lakers' NBA-record 33-game winning streak (at least until next season), it is left to terrify the rest of the league. San Antonio is among the few teams that can say "Boo!" back without eliciting laughter. The Spurs are on the verge of securing the top seeding in the Western Conference for a third consecutive season, making this a possible Finals preview.