Mr. Clutch?

Jerry West isn't interested in rescuing the Lakers from Hurricane Kobe, which turned into a Category 5 storm on Wednesday.

The former Lakers GM and current messiah in waiting, is ``absolutely not going back to the Lakers'' according to Doug Krikorian of the Long Beach Press Telegram.

"I'm absolutely not going back to the Lakers," West told Krikorian. "I'm 69 years old. I've been at this long enough. It's time for me to step permanently to the sidelines."

West called Bryant's demand "surprising," but refused to speculate on the outcome.

"I have no idea what's going on with the Lakers," he said.