Jerry West on why you shouldn't blame players for switching teams

Colin Cowherd: “Couldn’t I defend the players, though, and say… I could make an argument there should be 14-16 teams, but the owners like expansion fees. They all get a $50 million check or whatever. And so we’ve got a handful of teams in this league where players don’t want to play in these markets.

"I’ll defend Kevin Durant, like I have. So Kevin Durant lands in Seattle, and the owner leaves town. And then he ends up in Oklahoma City, then they get rid of James Harden — and he liked James Harden.

"Sometimes these players watch these owners and these GMs and they don’t see a lot of loyalty. Is it possible guys like Kevin Durant are like ‘Listen, my owner wasn’t loyal to Seattle. They weren’t loyal to James Harden.’

"Are players just following the lead of the owners?”

Jerry West: “Well you’re 100 percent right. Seattle was a city that was fortunate enough to have won a championship. They were fortunate enough to see some really good players. They were more than fortunate to have a young, budding star in Kevin Durant — and they have no control over where they go. They have little control when they’re under contract to a player.

"But don’t forget the agent’s role in this. Players have things, I’m sure, in their endorsement contracts. They move to a bigger market, they probably get more money. But also, many times, they leave a lot of money on the table by staying with a team wherever they may be.

"You cannot blame it on the players. You cannot. I know once in my career, and I was a loyal, loyal Laker player… when you have owners that [aren’t] really completely honest with you… I thought the Lakers would be my last destination, to be honest with you, when I was a player. But I would have left the Lakers, period, because [of] what I felt was a blatant lie to me by ownership. And it certainly wasn’t the present ownership. But I was furious, and I think somewhere along the way people have to have integrity, and I hope the players feel that way.

"And I’m thrilled that they have a chance to go. Is it wrong? Hey, listen, it doesn’t look great. But Kevin Durant? The things that were said about him… He went through this process, he met with three teams, he decided to make a choice. And my best guess is it wasn’t because of what people think about his relationship of Russell Westbrook. I have never heard him say a disparaging word about anyone back there. This is a person who has gotten criticized for no reason.”