West’s Homework Made Move Easier

The move from Bel-Air to Beale Street took a little more than two weeks for Jerry West, who agreed Monday to become president of the Memphis Grizzlies, a deal that brought him riches and power and, more than any of that, something worthwhile to do.

From start to finish--Atlanta to Memphis, as it turned out--West and his agent, Lon Rosen, heard from 10 teams, eight of which were deemed serious. The call from Grizzly owner Michael Heisley was one of the last.

“It was a very interesting process,” Rosen said. “What he did, as teams would call, we would research it. In Michael Heisley’s case, Jerry wanted to know as much about the guy as possible. He met him, he talked to people he’s worked with. He did the same thing you’d do if you were going to hire somebody, but he did it the other way. He wanted to learn about the guy, because you hear so many things from so many different people.”

What they found after a couple of days, according to Rosen, was a new owner who had many of the same values that drove Dr. Jerry Buss, the Lakers’ owner.

Not long after, Heisley flew to Los Angeles, and he and West met at West’s Bel-Air home for about four hours.

Again, West was struck by the ideals Heisley shared with Buss, the belief that an NBA owner could create a winner without reckless spending, though recent top-end contracts for Jason Williams and Michael Dickerson would suggest otherwise.

Heisley, who makes a living turning around failing businesses, bought the Grizzlies two years ago and then moved them from Vancouver to Memphis last summer. There’s a new arena going up in downtown Memphis, where there is corporate money--FedEx, above all--and what appears to be a decent interest in basketball.

West liked Heisley instantly, and their meeting was followed by negotiations, which was followed by West’s soul-searching.

“What Jerry was looking for was what he got,” said Rosen, a former Laker intern who became an agent for Magic Johnson and Kurt Rambis, among others. “He was looking for a guy who was committed to win and a guy that was willing to spend the money it takes to win.

“This is not about collecting Jerry West and a new arena. This guy wants to win at any expense. He’s willing to dip into his pocket to do it, which is very similar to what Buss did.”

As a result, Rosen said, “This was a very simple negotiation. Michael Heisley said, ‘You tell me what he’s looking for and I’ll let you know if I can do it.’”

In Memphis on Tuesday afternoon, West walked into the news conference to a standing ovation, a reaction unheard of in most markets. Shaquille O’Neal watched clips of the event from his home in Beverly Hills and he too liked what he saw.

“I’m not sad at all,” O’Neal said Wednesday. “I’m happy for Mr. West. I hadn’t seen him smile in a long time.”

Apparently, he hadn’t had enough reason.

“It wasn’t as difficult a decision as it seemed to be,” Rosen said. “It was an emotional decision because he’s an emotional man. But once he figured he was going back to work, he kept saying, ‘I would love to rebuild a team.’ Then, everything sort of fell into alignment. He didn’t have to go back to work. He wanted to go back to work.”

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Samaki Walker watched Wednesday’s practice from a training table set up courtside, where trainer Gary Vitti worked at the bone bruise on Walker’s left knee.

The bruise, suffered about two weeks ago in a practice collision with teammate Mark Madsen, is expected to heal enough to allow Walker to play Sunday in the first game of the Western Conference semifinals.

“It’s going to be sore,” Walker said from atop an exercise machine. “There’s not much we can do about it, just make sure it doesn’t get worse.”

The Lakers would like to have Walker practice Friday--the Lakers are off today--and Saturday.

Walker played 17.3 minutes a game in the Portland series, about seven minutes off his regular-season average.