The J-Notes
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Three big ways the Anthony Davis trade impacts the Utah Jazz

By Jared Woodcox

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 4: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans and Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz fight for the rebound on March 4, 2019 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 4: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans and Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz fight for the rebound on March 4, 2019 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 27: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans greets LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers after the game on February 27, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 27: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans greets LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers after the game on February 27, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Deep West gets deeper, championship gets harder

First and foremost, and most obviously, the biggest impact is that with the Los Angeles Lakers playing in the same conference as the Utah Jazz, the West just got a bit more daunting. With Golden State’s injury woes, it did appear momentarily that there would be a window of opportunity for the teams nipping at the Warriors’ heels to actually make some noise next season, but now that may not be the case.

I suppose it could still be as a lot of uncertainties abound, but the Lakers will obviously now be a daunting roadblock before any team that hopes to ascend to championship heights. Davis and James should make a terrific duo and this team’s ceiling is undoubtedly an NBA Title. My J-Notes cohort Ryan Aston already spoke in detail on this and how it affects the Jazz on Saturday, so I’ll just be brief here.

That said, the Lakers still have a lot of work to do before I’m ready to dub them the favorites for 2020. Time will tell if they can lure in another star to form a Big 3. And even if they do, they still have to round out their roster with meaningful pieces or else the whole thing simply isn’t going to work. Stars may reign supreme in the NBA, but depth is still critically important. Just ask the recently crowned champion Toronto Raptors.

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So while, unlike what some fans have prematurely determined, the Lakers aren’t anywhere close to clear-cut favorites just yet, there’s also no denying that they are a challenger for the championship and could very well get in Utah’s way of reaching that illustrious dream. The West looked wide open for a brief moment with the Warriors hurting, and it still very much is. But the Lakers could very well prove to be an obstacle that the rest of the pack can’t overcome.

Even if Los Angeles isn’t the team that comes out of the West with its new-found stardom, they’ll still impact the Jazz by making the conference even deeper and deadlier, and most likely taking up a coveted playoff spot that will make the race to the postseason even more difficult.

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