Yeah, Ja Morant said it: “we good in the West.” Was he wrong? He definitely wasn’t wrong at the time, and as much as Ja can bend physics with his high-flying acrobatics, he is not capable of reading the future (i.e., who trades for whom).
We argue he’s still right, anyway.
The Grizz, who were and are securely in the #2 spot in the West, decided to play it cool at the trade deadline. Do you blame them? Look at what the Grizz have been able to do with their development and bench depth over the past few years. Why would you want to gamble with that now?
Luke Kennard is an excellent addition to the team, and it cost us next to nothing (a low-risk, low-yield trade that still provided a net gain for the Grizzlies). A trade for Kevin Durant would have been exciting, but we don’t need to sell the farm yet (leave that to scrambling Minnesota). By the way, did we mention that we were already secure in our #2 spot in the West?
And why should we be worried? Since the trade deadline, here are the records of the notable Western Conference teams:
Nuggets: 3-1
Suns: 2-2
Mavericks: 1-3
Clippers: 2-1
Grizzlies: 2-1
Of course, perhaps we have to wait for these new baller additions to Mavs and Suns to coalesce, build bonds with the schematics currently in place for these teams. But so far, everything is still moving according to plan. It’s still business as usual in the West, regardless of the media hype. And let’s be very clear: Durant is aging quickly and Irving is a cancer.
Grizz are still contenders for making the Western Conference Finals, just as they are contenders for the NBA Championship.
We good in the west, y’all.
