The Los Angeles Lakers ‘Embarrassed’ Jerry West

The Logo spoke for all of Laker Nation following their humiliating sweep at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks. From the Dan Patrick Show (via SRI): “How surprised was he that the Lakers were swept?: ‘Obviously very surprised, but, again, I think people don’t realize that Dallas had the exact same record as the Lakers did this year. And they had a terrific road record, they were capable. It’s a completely different looking Dallas team than I’d seen before. When I watched the Lakers play they looked dispirited. Some of the things that I saw out there, really frankly, were pretty classless. The Lakers have won with class and they’ve lost with class and [Sunday], as someone who worked there and is pretty proud of my years with the Lakers, I was a little bit embarrassed — not with the loss, but some of the things I saw on the floor which I thought were really just not something that a person that wears a Laker uniform should do.’ How do the Lakers recover from this?: ‘I’m not there as the GM, but I think all year long I watched this team and it’s about Phil’s last stand, about almost everyone being assured they would be in the Finals. But there were just too many distractions. Phil’s a very powerful figure and has had an incredible career. I almost felt, at times, the focus was more on him than the team. … I felt, at times this year, that everyone just assumed that the Lakers were going to do it. I didn’t like this team from the start of the year. I didn’t think it was well-equipped to win another championship.’ What do the Lakers need to continue to compete for championships?: ‘First of all they need athletes. This is the least athletic Laker team as I’ve seen in a long time. … I think [Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum] have to be used differently. Putting Pau Gasol and having him guard Dirk Nowitzki, there was no way that was going to happen. There’s just no way.'”