Jerry West did exactly what he had to do to get Kawhi Leonard to the Clippers, even if that meant talking bad about the team where he made his name.
The man suing Jerry West and the Clippers for his alleged role in landing Kawhi Leonard has taken things up a notch after audio was released that acknowledges their relationship and trashing the Lakers in the process.
“Johnny Wilkes tells TMZ Sports … West left the voicemail for him on July 1, 2019, around 2 PM … “expressing concern that Kawhi would choose the Lakers over the Clippers.”
Wilkes says, “In the same message, Jerry thanked me for all my efforts in getting Kawhi to sign with the Clippers.”
TMZ Sports has obtained the voicemail — in which a man who sounds like West says, “Hey there, this is Jerry calling. I really want to thank you a lot for trying to help. I heard this morning that everyone over in the Lakers camp thinks they’re gonna get him.”
“I just find it hard to believe that he would want to go to that sh*t show where he would not even be … wouldn’t even get his name in the paper and he wouldn’t be the face of the franchise that’s for sure.”
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“He might be the best player on the team, but hope things are well and again, I really really appreciate everything you’ve done.”
West is an executive board member with the Clippers.
The voicemail continues:
“I will keep you apprised of what’s going on. But, I do want to get together with you privately and would love to take you to dinner and even Sam if he’s around. So I can at least pay my respects to you guys for being so generous and helpful. Take care, talk to you sometime soon. Bye-bye.”
Listen below:
