Big man West has new role as passer
Often during long flights, Draymond Green sits next to David West on the Warriors’ team charter and asks what the big man has in store for him.
West touches upon everything from current events to politics to renewable energy to African American history during those conversations. Amid the grind of an 82-game season, Green appreciates the chance to learn from someone whose interests extend beyond the court.
“He’s brilliant, man,” Green said of West. “I’ve never been around anyone like him.”
It is not only West’s IQ that has impressed his Golden State teammates. In his 14th NBA season, the 36-year-old backup center is showcasing an elite passing ability seldom seen during his previous stops in New Orleans, Indiana and San Antonio. His 6.3 assists per 36 minutes, two-plus more than he has ever averaged in a season, rank 39th in the league behind Green, LeBron James — and 36 guards.
In Friday night’s 114-100 win over the Kings, West needed only 14 minutes to record four of the Warriors’ 37 dimes. It reinforced why he is an ideal fulcrum for head coach Steve Kerr’s movement-heavy system. With a rare blend of size, court awareness, touch and timing, the 6-foot-9, 250-pound West posts up on the right block and draws defenses toward him before kicking out to open shooters.
His pinpoint passes, often levied only with his massive left hand, are an underrated reason Golden State easily leads the NBA in scoring and
field-goal percentage. West has 122 assists in 695 minutes this season. The Warriors’ backup point guard, Shaun Livingston, has 12 fewer assists in 458 more minutes.
“He’s been even better than I expected from a passing standpoint,” Kerr said. “He fits in so well with all of our movement, and being able to pass from the elbows and the low block, find our cutters. He’s a great player.”
Hardly an athletic specimen, West used a throwback playing style to become one of the NBA’s best power forwards. He was an All-Star in 2008 and ’09 with New Orleans. With Indiana in 2013 and ’14, West was Paul George’s top sidekick for teams that reached the Eastern Conference finals.
It was his toughness and leadership, not his passing ability, that talent evaluators valued most. In those early years with the Hornets (now Pelicans), West left most of the facilitating responsibilities to Chris Paul. The personnel during his four seasons with the Pacers, defense-oriented teams with limited shooting ability, made it impossible for West to maximize his passing talents.
Last season in San Antonio, where Gregg Popovich’s system subsists on isolation situations and mid-range jumpers, was more of the same. When he rebuffed more lucrative offers to sign with the Warriors in July, West owned a career assist average of 2.2.
It wasn’t until training camp, when West was hitting Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson on cuts and screens, that Kerr realized just how useful West could be to his free-flowing system. Kerr quickly made West into a hub of the second unit. With the ball in his hands in the low post, West started deciphering defenses to get his team the best shot possible.
“It’s great, man,” West said. “We have guys that cut and constantly move without the ball. … That gives us a shot (to win) every single night.”
As his playing career winds down, West is making more time for his outside interests. His charity, the West Group, has raised college scholarships for more than 400 impoverished youths in North Carolina. He is an avid reader of the Economist and the Wall Street Journal. West is also on the advisory board for a renewable energy company.
Because West has long been known as one of the NBA’s more intellectual players, Green wasn’t shocked when they began their deep chats on the team charter. As for West being one of the league’s best passers for a big man? That was a bit more surprising.
“I didn’t know he could pass the ball like that,” Green said. “The way he moves at 36, it’s special, man.”