We gave you our Eastern Conference offseason report card.
So, it is time to hand out grades in the West, where no single team earned an A or F. That fact reflects how little movement of consequence occurred in the conference.
While NBA icons LeBron James and (we presume) Kawhi Leonard are headed East, LaMelo Ball and (we think) Brandon Ingram are the stars bound for the opposite direction, and neither moves the needle much for his new team. Same goes for Ja Morant, who was traded from the Memphis Grizzlies to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Morant and Ball may raise the ceilings for the Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves, respectively, but they also lower their floors. In all likelihood, neither Portland nor Minnesota is any closer to contention than it was without doing a thing, so each of those teams earned a C, because we grade around the curve of: Did you get better?
Teams are also graded on ***** et management. Regardless of how we feel about the present state of a roster, did the franchise take steps this summer to build toward a better future? Here's looking at you, Los Angeles Lakers, who spent big, both in salary and draft picks, locking themselves into a team that is … still not a contender?
#morant #conference
So, it is time to hand out grades in the West, where no single team earned an A or F. That fact reflects how little movement of consequence occurred in the conference.
While NBA icons LeBron James and (we presume) Kawhi Leonard are headed East, LaMelo Ball and (we think) Brandon Ingram are the stars bound for the opposite direction, and neither moves the needle much for his new team. Same goes for Ja Morant, who was traded from the Memphis Grizzlies to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Morant and Ball may raise the ceilings for the Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves, respectively, but they also lower their floors. In all likelihood, neither Portland nor Minnesota is any closer to contention than it was without doing a thing, so each of those teams earned a C, because we grade around the curve of: Did you get better?
Teams are also graded on ***** et management. Regardless of how we feel about the present state of a roster, did the franchise take steps this summer to build toward a better future? Here's looking at you, Los Angeles Lakers, who spent big, both in salary and draft picks, locking themselves into a team that is … still not a contender?
#morant #conference
3 months ago
