After spending six years as an executive board member with the Golden State Warriors, Hall of Famer Jerry West surprisingly decided to leave that role this summer.

West departed the Bay Area and opted to accept an advisory position with division rivals the Los Angeles Clippers.

It was a strange move for The Logo to leave the defending champions for a team who just lost its best player in Chris Paul and is in a bit of turmoil.

In a recent interview, however, the 79-year-old revealed that he actually didn't want to leave the Warriors and had high praise for the organisation and its culture.

In an interview with The Athletic's Tim Kawakami, he said: "Frankly it was very sad, OK? It really was. 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.

"But those things happen sometimes. 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."

Clearly, West enjoyed being a part of the Warriors franchise and was part of a hugely successful team, so why did the Lakers legend decide to join the Clippers?

"It was time for me to leave. I’m in Los Angeles again," he said. "For me, I’ll have a chance to go in the office a little bit and watch some of the people that have been hired, to watch our coaches coach. I’ve often said I’ve done some crazy things in my life because of the timing and maybe the timing was right."

The NBA legend won one championship during his playing career but has eight as an executive, including two in the past three years in Golden State.

The Clippers have made a smart move by hiring West and they need some guidance and stability at an executive level and he'll help to bring just that.

He has already had an influence on some major decisions with the team as owner Steve Ballmer decided to strip Doc Rivers of his general manager duties in order for him to focus solely on coaching the team.

Managing matters both on and off the floor from a coaching and front office perspective is extremely difficult, and West surely advised Ballmer that it was best to have two people focusing separately on those two key functions within the franchise.

Incidentally, the first meeting between the Clippers and Warriors next season will take place on 30 October.