Some Familiar Faces Grace Staples Center

Jerry West was in town. So was Pat Riley.

Not for job interviews, but for a 20-year reunion of the 1985 championship team.

They waxed nostalgic about what made that team great, then they talked about what the future holds for them. Neither of them spoke of another reunion with the Lakers in coming months.

“I’m not coming here seeking a job,” said West, in his third season as the Memphis Grizzlies’ president of basketball operations. “I came here for this [1985] team. I’m very happy in Memphis. I’ve really had a lot of fun down there. It’s a real challenge, and I like challenges. At this point in my life, that’s about all that’s left -- challenges.”

“I’ve got one more year on my contract in Memphis, and I fully intend to fulfill that. After that, probably my professional career is over with.”

Riley, president of the Miami Heat, coached the Lakers to four championships in nine seasons before leaving in 1990. He coached the New York Knicks and then the Heat before stepping down as Heat coach in October 2003.

“I like my [Laker] reputation to stay as it is,” he said. “It will be remembered for a wonderful decade. I have great respect for [owner Jerry] Buss and what he created, the platform and the tradition here. I think I pretty much have had my 22 years of coaching. I love what I’m doing now.”

Why does his name pop up as a longshot candidate to be the next Laker coach?

“Flies all over the place,” he said. “It’s like flypaper on the wall. It’s the normal process of the NBA, whenever jobs come open, either former, current, young names pop up. That’s all that is. It’s part of the whole thing.”

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West, who sat at midcourt in the front row to watch the Lakers play the Phoenix Suns on Monday, said the current Laker woes weren’t entirely unexpected.

“First of all, it’s going to happen to everyone,” he said. “It never goes on forever. I think the most important thing is who’s sitting upstairs, and that’s Jerry Buss. He’s been an incredible owner and his leadership, with [General Manager] Mitch Kupchak’s brilliance -- and he is brilliant at his job, I worked with him a number of years -- it may not come as quick as people want, but they’re not that far away. They’re really not.

“Stability is a very, very important thing, and this year was not one of those years with a lot of stability. Hopefully this will not continue in the future. It’s never easy.”