Last year during the trade deadline, the Utah Jazz felt boxed in.
They spent a bunch of money on a core they expected to compete for a championship. But by February of 2022, it was quite clear the Jazz weren’t going to compete for a title. They had no money and no real assets on their roster outside the two guys —Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert — they would eventually trade during the offseason. They were a team headed for the middle of the road, NBA purgatory if you will. So, they tried to make the best of what they felt was a difficult situation. They traded Joe Ingles, saved some money and picked up Nickeil Alexander-Walker in the process with the hope of developing the young guard.
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With the trade deadline looming on Thursday, the Jazz feel freedom. They traded Mitchell and Gobert this past offseason and brought back practically a new team. They have a much cleaner cap sheet coming up this summer. They have so many assets to play with that teams are calling them. Last year, they had to make the calls.
Multiple league sources who were granted anonymity so they could speak freely tell The Athletic that the Jazz have had at least one trade call with every team in the league. And with many of those teams, there have been multiple trade calls. According to these sources, the Jazz have multiple offers on the table for more than one of their veterans, with a robust market for forward Jarred Vanderbilt, shooting guard Malik Beasley and point guard Mike Conley. There has been general interest in shooting guard Jordan Clarkson, although teams are wary of his impending unrestricted free agency. Kelly Olynyk has garnered interest on the market as well.
With that in mind, what do the Jazz do?
It’s a pertinent question. Heading into Monday night’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, the Jazz are 27-27 on the season. As reported repeatedly in The Athletic, the Jazz never had any intentions of tanking the season, although popular opinion thought they should. They are in the 10th spot in the Western Conference, which would qualify them for the Play-In Tournament. But they are only a few games out of the fifth spot.
League sources with knowledge of the situation say the Jazz are approaching the next few days with an open mind. They have offers, which they started sifting through during the weekend. They can pretty clearly do a deal if they want. For example, sources say, the Jazz have an offer for Vanderbilt from a Western Conference team that would net them multiple second round picks. Would the Jazz want to take that offer? Or see if they can find a first for the forward who has spent much of his time with the Jazz in head coach Will Hardy’s starting lineup?
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If the Jazz do a deal, it will be one that they see of value heading into next season and the year after. That deal could propel them to the bottom of the Western Conference. Or, it could make them a better team in the interim. The key in Utah’s eyes — the eyes of Jazz CEO Danny Ainge and general manager Justin Zanik — will be in the value going forward.
It will make the Jazz choosy over the next few days, according to sources, and this trade deadline is not a fire sale for the Jazz. They aren’t going to be trading players for the sake of trading them, which means they aren’t taking on scraps from other teams just for the sake of it.
There have been talks with the Los Angeles Lakers in reference to taking on Russell Westbrook’s contract, but as of Sunday night those talks haven’t turned into anything substantial. There have been talks with the Atlanta Hawks in reference to John Collins, but as of Sunday night those talks haven’t been substantial, either. As of Sunday night, multiple league sources say the Hawks value Collins significantly and that they would only part with him for a player they think puts them in another tier in the Eastern Conference. And there have been talks with the Dallas Mavericks regarding Dorian Finney-Smith, but as was first reported in The Athletic, Dallas included Finney-Smith in a trade for Kyrie Irving.
Of the players currently on the Jazz, Vanderbilt seems the most likely to be moved between now and Thursday, sources say. The Jazz value him. But, in Utah’s system, Vanderbilt is a center, and rookie Walker Kessler has emerged and made it impossible for the franchise to keep the rookie off the floor. That means Vanderbilt becomes a bit redundant for Utah. And his talent, his age, and his team friendly contract have made him popular on the trade market. The Jazz have multiple offers for him. The only question at this point is whether they feel comfortable or not with accepting one of them.
Conley is another interesting case for the Jazz, because he may ultimately be more valuable to Utah than what the Jazz could get from trading him. At least one Western Conference team offered a significant expiring contract for Conley earlier in the season, sources say. But the Jazz weren’t interested. Conley has been a rock to lean on for a young locker room. He’s happy in Utah, and the Jazz are happy with him. According to sources, if he is moved, he would like to be moved to a contending team. If not, he wants to stay with the Jazz, as he and his family are happy and established in the community, and Conley is happy with his current basketball situation.
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On the floor, Conley has been terrific this season. He’s clearly still a starting level point guard in the NBA. He’s not Utah’s best player, but he’s probably Utah’s most important player. He’s the one player the Jazz can trade that would make it pretty easy for the team to start losing games.
The development of their younger players means the Jazz are playing a bit with house money. Kessler has emerged as one of the best rookies in the league. He was just selected to the Rising Stars challenge on All-Star weekend and has become a rock defensively for Utah. Rookie forward Ochai Agbaji has emerged as an important member of Hardy’s rotation, and someone the Jazz front office values.
Teams have asked the Jazz on the availability of All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen, Kessler and Agbaji. They have been told those three are not available in trade talks.
It all means the Jazz can go a number of different ways, because of the assets they possess. They have as much flexibility as anyone in the league. And now that Irving has landed in Dallas, which opens up the deadline traffic, you can be sure they will be a part of many more conversations over the next three-and-a-half days.
(Photo of Malik Beasley and Mike Conley Jr.: Rocky Widner / NBAE via Getty Images)
