West and Cooke settled their differences—and the former Laker's lawsuit—and Cooke hired him to replace Sharman as the team's coach.[88] West became upset, however, when Cooke refused to spend the money necessary to acquire forward Julius Erving, who the Nets were selling.[89] Behind another MVP season from Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles won the Pacific Division, finishing the 1976–77 season a league-best 53–29.[90] They defeated the Warriors in a seven-game series to open the postseason before being swept by Portland in the Western Conference Finals.[4] During the off-season, Los Angeles picked up Jamaal Wilkes from Golden State and signed first-round draft pick Norm Nixon.