 Chamberlain joined a squad which featured Hall @-@ of @-@ Fame forward Elgin Baylor and Hall @-@ of @-@ Fame guard Jerry West , along with backup center Mel Counts , forwards Keith Erickson and Tom Hawkins and talented 5 ' 11 " guard Johnny Egan . The lack of a second guard next to West ( and thus , the lack of speed and quickness ) concerned coach Butch Van Breda Kolff ; after losing Clark and Gail Goodrich , who joined the Phoenix Suns after the 1968 expansion draft , he said : " Egan gets murdered on defense because of his [ lack of ] size ... but if I don 't play him , we look like a bunch of trucks . " In addition , Cherry observed that Chamberlain was neither a natural leader nor a loyal follower , which made him difficult to fit in . While he was on cordial terms with Jerry West , he often argued with team captain Elgin Baylor ; regarding Baylor , he later explained : " We were good friends , but ... [ in ] black culture ... you never let the other guy one @-@ up you . " The greatest problem was his tense relationship with Lakers coach Butch Van Breda Kolff : pejoratively calling the new recruit " The Load " , he later complained that Chamberlain was egotistical , never respected him , too often slacked off in practice and focused too much on his own statistics . In return , the center blasted Van Breda Kolff as " the dumbest and worst coach ever " . Laker Keith Erickson observed that " Butch catered to Elgin and Jerry ... and that is not a good way to get on Wilt 's side ... that relationship was doomed from the start . " 
