The mystery of David West and his cryptic comments about the Golden State Warriors’ latest championship began with an innocent and irritating question from a reporter.



This was long before the Draymond Green-Kevin Durant dust-up in the Clippers game on Nov. 12 put their dynasty in danger of derailing, back on that June 8 night in Cleveland when their dominance looked so darned easy. The sweep of LeBron James’ Cavaliers was complete, the Warriors winning their second consecutive title and third in the last four years as the champagne flowed (again) at Quicken Loans Arena. It was only natural to wonder if the perception of their super team existence met their reality.



“Someone asked me, ‘Was this year easier than last year?’” the now retired big man remembered in a recent conversation with The Athletic. “And I’m like, ‘What do you mean? No NBA season is easy. What the hell kind of question is...