Deadline Q&A: Are Jazz Moves on the Horizon?

Would the Jazz take calls about their marquee acquisition from last summer? Ken Clayton answers that and more in a trade deadline Q&A. (Melissa Majchrzak via espn.com)

The trade deadline is one week away, and the NBA is open for business. On Monday night, as the Jazz lost to a team wearing Houston Rockets jerseys, I solicited questions from Jazz Twitter. Find your questions and my answers below.

What picks do we still have that we can work with in a trade? @caseygreer2

Excellent question, Casey. Let’s start with what assets the Jazz have, and most people reading this already know (more or less) about the players.

As far as first round picks go, the Jazz cupboard is a little bare, thanks to a super-flexible first round pick they traded the Memphis Grizzlies in the Mike Conley deal. While that pick is most likely to be conveyed in 2022, for now the protections tie the front office’s collective hands through 2025¹. As a result, the only first rounder the Jazz could trade outright is the 2026 pick.

That said, there are options. The Jazz would trade an earlier pick by specifying that it is the first available pick once the Memphis obligation is fulfilled, which would likely mean the 2024 pick. They might be able to negotiate protections on the pick in 2024 or 2025, but the pick would have to be unprotected in 2026, because teams aren’t currently allowed to trade picks beyond that draft.

As far as second round picks, the Jazz have a few more options. While they don’t own this year’s pick², they have picks available in the next four drafts: a Golden State pick in 2021, Utah’s own in 2022 and 2023, and the better of Utah’s and Cleveland’s picks in 2024. Utah’s own 2025 and 2026 picks can’t currently be traded on the off chance that the first round pick never conveys to Memphis by 2024, in which case that pick reverts to these two second round picks in the distant future³.

How big a misstep is not being able to trade our first round pick this deadline? @McCadeP8

The protections on that pick are strange, because it is so unlikely that the pick falls between #8 and #14 and is conveyed in 2020 or 2021, that it’s essentially like the Jazz traded the 2022 pick. The only thing I can imagine is that the Grizzlies looked in their crystal ball and thought there was some chance the Jazz would miss the playoffs this year or next, and made this provision a deal breaker. In that case, the Jazz wanted Conley, and you probably don’t die on that hill, but it certainly puts the Jazz in a tougher position at this deadline.

That said, let’s wait and see what kind of value draft picks even have at this deadline. The draft is projected to be pretty weak, so those bargaining chips may not be terribly valuable anyway, and late firsts are often valued less than early seconds⁴. The Clippers kept their 2020 first round pick specifically to use at the deadline, so I’m curious to see what they can do with their pick⁵ before I label it a misstep.

How realistic is it to expect the Jazz trade for a big? What are the chances? @JazzNationBr

Very realistic. I assume the Jazz are busily beating the NBA’s proverbial bushes looking for an upgrade to play behind Rudy Gobert. Ed Davis hasn’t fit Quin Snyder’s system, and while Tony Bradley has been a pleasant surprise, how confident do you feel thinking of him on the floor in a series against the Clippers, Lakers or Bucks?

Assuming they are looking, it’s a question of whether they find a deal that they feel will improve the team. That brings us to a series of questions about specific bigs.

Do you think the Jazz will move Ed Davis or try to [acquire] another center? @newbymiles89

If the Jazz chase another center (or big) in a trade, I’m sure they’d prefer to include Davis in the package. It gets him a chance to start over, and gets his 2020-21 salary off the books. You just have to find a team that wants him, which may sound easy based on his reputation prior to this season, but I’m pretty sure other front offices have access to this year’s film and stats. That said, I still think some team can convince itself that Davis has been a productive backup for years and just needs a change of scenery, or maybe it’s a team that isn’t really that into winning right now. Can the Jazz find the team that meets that description and find a big they like on that team’s roster? That’s a little harder to imagine, but it’s possible, and of course they could also pursue three-team deals.

Thoughts on the Jazz trading for Nerlens Noel for a back up big? Cheap and if the Thunder dump Steven Adams or CP3 then I’d assume they wouldn’t mind getting something back for him either? @GaretDuckworth

Noel is playing well, but I’m not sure why the Thunder would trade him, whichever way they decide to go. If they don’t trade Paul and Adams, they’re going to continue to chase the playoffs, in which case they keep him. If they decide to throw away the playoffs, even as they are flirting with the top 6 in the west, I think Noel is a good candidate to stay in Oklahoma⁶. At the minimum salary, they just can’t get enough return to make it worth trading him, and they have to play someone for the last 30 games. He might prefer the opportunity to stay and play on a barren team for his next contract.

How happy will the Suns be when they get Ed Davis in exchange for Aron Baynes? @KantsImperative

The Suns will love Ed Davis. He’s a great teammate and I understand he can defend and rebound, so why not? Let’s make a deal.

I think Baynes would be a pretty good fit for the Jazz. He’s tough inside, but he also provides a pick-and-pop ability that would be a great change of pace from Gobert’s minutes and perhaps be a good target for Conley. I also understand from a guy who has been checking him out in the shower that he’s quite a sight.

When Deandre Ayton was suspended, I wouldn’t have expected the Jazz to have a chance at Baynes, but I’ve changed my tune a little. His playing time has decreased since Ayton’s return, logging only 16 minutes per game in his last five, and his long-distance shooting has cratered. After shooting over 40% from three-point range early in the season, he cooled in January, shooting only 20%. On the season he’s now at 33.3%. He’s giving the Suns less value than he was, and he’s an unrestricted free agent in July, so if they could get value for him, they’d reportedly move him if their asking price is met.

So what is that asking price? Originally I would have said it was too high for the Jazz, but now I’m not so sure. With only 30-35 games left under contract and currently dealing with a hip injury, I don’t see anyone offering a first-round pick. As unlikely as it seemed when Phoenix was winning and Baynes was hitting 44% of his threes, could Davis and a second-round pick get the job done? Davis might not fit the Suns’ salary cap plans next season, but I can’t imagine what team would offer much more than this for a Baynes rental.

Wouldn’t guys like Kenneth Faried or Joakim Noah make sense? Couldn’t they help more than the last guys at the bench? @JazzNationBr

When talking about guys who are out of the NBA, my first response is always that they might be out of the NBA for a reason. Noah has been available to all 30 teams all season, and Faried has been available since December 9, but neither has a job. Dallas recently spoke with Noah, then decided that Willie Cauley-Stein was a better option, even though he cost them an asset.

That doesn’t mean that Noah or Faried couldn’t help a team in the right circumstances. It just means that teams are keeping options open. One or both may find a job after the deadline or in early March, but right now, teams seem to be looking to the trade and buyout market as first and second options.

Are the Jazz taking calls or making calls about Conley? If so what would they be looking to do? Donovan Mitchell at point and maybe a big 4 like Kevin Love or Tobias Harris? @LilBax

I’m quite certain the Jazz braintrust always answers the phone when it rings, so I’m sure Conley’s name has come up a few times. I’m not convinced that they are taking those calls very seriously, and I’m nearly certain they aren’t originating any Conley-centric trade calls.

The Jazz wanted Mike Conley. I mean they really wanted him. They inquired about him for years, flirted with a deal at last year’s deadline, then finally acquired him in July. Things haven’t gone perfectly since, but they also haven’t been as bad as we are occasionally led to believe.

His early season struggles were well chronicled, but also overstated; they lasted about four games. Game five kicked off a 12 game stretch during which he averaged 17.9 ppg, 4.4 apg and 3.7 rpg on 42% shooting from three. He struggled on the subsequent five-game road trip, probably already suffering hamstring problems before the injury caused him to miss time. He has likewise struggled in five games since returning, but it has been five games⁷.

I don’t believe the Jazz are considering Love at all, and while they considered pursuing Harris in free agency, they literally chose to acquire Conley last summer and bypass the max-level free agency options, including Harris. After such a limited number of games (27, to be exact), I don’t think the Jazz will or should reverse course. The Jazz are betting that he can return to his November performance levels once healthy and fully integrated. Hopefully they are right.

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With that I’ll wrap this up. Thanks to those who submitted questions, including @zarinf and @dan4syth9876, who I didn’t get to. This is getting kind of long, and your questions focused on the offseason, so I’ll try to answer you later on Twitter.