'It was very sad': Jerry West didn't want to leave Warriors

Jerry West returned to Los Angeles this summer, but leaving Golden State really wasn't by choice.

The former special adviser to the Warriors loved his time in the Bay Area and wanted to remain with the reigning champions. However, when that option wasn't available, West had no option but to move on.

"Frankly it was very sad, OK? It really was," West told Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, without fully detailing the reason he parted ways. "A place where I thought that if I was going to work another year or if somebody wanted me to work another year, I thought I could contribute; I did not want to leave.

"I did not want to leave. I was very happy there."

West helped oversee the construction of the Warriors as an adviser to management. He didn't have final say, which rested in the hands of general manager Bob Myers, but West did give input when consulted.

His finest moment was when he threatened to quit if the Warriors went through with a reported swap of Klay Thompson for Kevin Love back in 2014. Thompson eventually grew into a core piece and a perennial All-Star.

Having won eight championships as an executive and having played on a number of Finals teams, West knows a quality organization when he sees it. He was thoroughly enamored with the Warriors and only had complimentary remarks on his way out.

"Obviously to be around a bunch of players that were as together as any I’ve seen and I think more importantly the talent that was on that team and to see the joy. There’s a lot of joy there. I think those are the kind of environments where people really prosper," West said.

"You don’t always in your life have a chance to work in environments like that. And the ownership group, to have that many diverse people who were so successful. To see the decisions that were made up there to make this possible … it was kind of a storybook six years to be honest with you."