Many around the NBA had expressed the sentiment that the trade deadline would be quiet. That wasn’t the case after Kyrie Irving requested to be traded from the Brooklyn Nets. A few days later, he became a Dallas Maverick. Kevin Durant was the next superstar to follow as he was dealt to the Phoenix Suns in a shocking trade.
Morant named the Boston Celtics as the one team during a December interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews that he viewed as being one to watch out for.
Andrews asked: “No one in the West?”
“Nah, I’m fine in the West,” Morant responded.
Much has changed since Morant made that comment, including his Grizzlies going through a lengthy losing streak and no shortage of new star-power in the Western Conference. Does Morant still see the Grizzlies as “fine in the West” after the Durant trade?
NBA NEWS: Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies, Kevin Durant & Phoenix Suns Updates
“I don’t care, honestly. I said what I said, and I mean that,” Morant said when asked about the Durant trade. “The confidence I had when I said that, is the confidence that got us to the point we’re at now, being a top team in this league.”
Morant’s Grizzlies were among the teams that repeatedly attempted to pursue a trade to acquire Durant before the Nets dealt him. Memphis was among the teams to send an all-in trade offer to the Nets, but the lack of willingness to part with either of Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., or Desmond Bane proved to leave their offer as being less appealing than the Suns’ deal.
NBA NEWS: Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies, Kevin Durant & Phoenix Suns Updates
The Grizzlies will be in a challenging position to compete in a loaded Western Conference landscape. They had a window to compete as an ascending team, and they still have an outlook to do so, but two teams with All-NBA First-Team talents adding a superstar doesn’t bode well.
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