With all due respect to followers of woeful NBA groups just like the Utah Jazz and Portland Path Blazers, it’s time we’ve a frank dialog. And I apologize for the way it will exclude your completely legitimate (however, to me, in the end tertiary) wants as diehard supporters of your respective favourite groups.
The NBA’s newest actually generational draft prospect, Duke’s Cooper Flagg, should play within the Jap Convention when he seemingly jumps to the league in the summertime of 2025. Full cease.
There are not any ifs, ands, or buts about it, both.
If we wish to have a very wholesome and balanced NBA, throwing one other potential franchise celebrity like Flagg into an already-stacked West is a dire state of affairs for the league. The sheer expertise disparity between the 2 conferences — the West has had extra All-NBA gamers each season for 26 straight years — is already manner too obvious.
The East’s embarrassingly gradual begin to the 2024-2025 season solely confirms as a lot. It’s nonetheless a small pattern dimension (lower than 10 video games into the 12 months on the time of this writing), however listed here are some eye-opening early numbers to bear in mind in case you’re a kind of individuals who’d prefer to see Flagg play someplace West of the Rocky Mountains:
- Solely two East groups, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics, at the moment have a successful document. That’s proper. Fairly actually, everybody else exterior of Cleveland and Boston within the East is straddling the road at .500 or decrease. Yikes.
- Eight of the NBA’s 10 finest information thus far belong to Western Convention groups. Eight. EIGHT.
- The West, itself, is successful over 70 p.c of its video games head-to-head with the East thus far. That’s roughly a 57-win tempo over an 82-game season, by the way in which. An actual ho-hum form of dominance.
- The East, itself, can also be being closely dragged down by the struggling Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks, who have been presupposed to be bellwethers as convention heavyweights. From accidents and age to good old style unhealthy luck, these two groups are as a substitute mired on the backside of the standings. Powerful scene.
I do know it’s tempting to say we’ll respect somebody with Flagg’s distinctive all-around skills wherever he performs. Which, certain. That’s a part of the deal we make as sports activities followers. Typically, it’s nearly sitting again and appreciating the present gifted athletes can placed on.
You’re taking what you may get. I perceive.
Nonetheless, this large disparity between the NBA’s East and West merely can’t proceed. Flagg and the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama are/have been thought of two of the most effective draft prospects within the league in years. For each of them to play on Western groups in a convention the place, for instance, a 50-win crew was the fifth seed final season (a 50-win crew was the No. 2 seed within the East) could be an unmitigated catastrophe for aggressive stability.
Western groups already tear one another aside all 12 months. In the meantime, the 2-3 squads preventing on the prime of the East get to be on cruise management as they please. A attainable celebrity like Flagg going West would simply make it even worse. It’s not tenable or sustainable for gamers or followers of Western groups. (The convention actually wants extra “nights off,” if what I imply!)
The East wants an injection of potential all-time youth and expertise. Badly.
So, that is my message to followers of fledgling squads just like the Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors. I’m actually rooting for you.
Go seize that Flagg.
The NBA’s interconference aggressive stability may rely upon it.
