Deadline Day! SCH Panel Weighs In On Trade Options, Assets

Can the Jazz add another difference-maker to this group with their modest available assets? (Nick Bolerjack/utahjazz.com)

We’re inside the final 24 hours of the NBA trade season, with a deadline on deals set for 1:00 p.m. Mountain Time on Thursday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Jazz have lost five straight games and appear to need some help. Will they get it on Thursday? Do they have enough assets left to score a rotation upgrade? Who might get the Jazz closer to their ceiling?

To answer all of the questions facing the Jazz in these last hours before the buzzer sounds on NBA trades, we convened a panel of Salt City Hoops writers.

The Jazz already made one in-season trade this year. On a scale of 1-10, how likely is it that they make another this week?

Isaac Adams: 5. The Ed Davis signing hasn’t worked out like either side had hoped but he’s still a quality player and I think the Jazz will try to find a new home for him if they can. They’ll also be monitoring the market for potential options but don’t feel a pressing concern to do anything. The biggest question for the Jazz is if Mike Conley returns to his Memphis form, not who they can add to the team.

Dan Clayton: I have a high degree of confidence that the Jazz’s roster will look different in the playoffs than it does this instant, but a low degree of confidence that anything will happen tomorrow. So… 3? The Jazz will try to upgrade 1-2 rotation spots, but they really just don’t have a lot to work with. Their asset stockpile is looking a little picked over, they’re limited in trading their own firsts for a few years because of the Conley trade, and most of their players who are actually good are off limits for varying reasons. Their upgrade might need to come as a late season signing, perhaps after someone who is moved this week gets bought out by their new team.

Dane Coles: 4. I would say it’s not very likely after they acquired Jordan Clarkson in a December trade, but the Jazz front office has proven they are willing to be aggressive if the right move is out there. I’m just not sure it is.

Mark Russell Pereira: As explained more below, the Jazz just do not have a diverse array of interesting, tradeable assets that “selling” teams want. That said, I can’t go below a 3 for two reasons. First, Dennis Lindsey and Justin Zanik are absolutely on the phone with as many teams as possible to talk about any number of tiny moves around the margins that won’t register with most fans. Second, Lindsey & Zanik are also smart enough to shoehorn their way into 3- and 4-team trade conversations to grease the wheels of teams moving bigger fish. Now, the Jazz don’t have the tools to be major players in the latter scenario (like they were when they took multiple players from Golden State to aid the Warriors’ pursuit of Andre Iguodala), but they are roughly $11 million below the luxury tax line, enough to at least be relevant.

Kincade Upstill: About a two. The Jazz already used their main trade piece in Dante Exum. Lindsey will work the phones to see if there is a way to improve this team, but unless the Jazz are going to include one of their bigger players, not named Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, the asset cupboard is pretty empty.

What is the biggest rotational need the Jazz should address if they do make a deal?

Isaac: Wing defense. If the Jazz are going to thrive in the playoffs they have to be able to matchup against players like LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. While Royce O’Neale and Joe Ingles provide some of the answers on the wing, the Jazz could use one more big wing with experience. So far they haven’t shown that they trust any of the rookies to fill that need and I would anticipate the Jazz are watching the trade and buyout market for decent backup wings.

Dan: The Jazz need to stabilize the second unit, most likely by adding someone who can both finish the pick-and-roll and defend across multiple frontcourt positions. The second-unit offense looks nothing like the smart, incisive, pass-driven offense the Jazz run for the other 30-36 minutes per night, and that’s largely because Davis, Tony Bradley and Georges Niang don’t really scare teams as pick-and-roll threats. A bench upgrade might even enable the Jazz to free Mitchell from all the minutes he’s currently consigned to being a life preserver to the second unit, minutes that come with a real cost. 

Dane: Their wing defense could use some help, but the backup center spot is more important right now. I have liked seeing Bradley’s improvement but I just don’t think he’s enough if the Jazz really want to contend.

Mark: I am of the thought that Davis is better than he’s shown so far, and frankly I am extremely uninspired by trades that involve trading Davis plus a pick for a different, below-average backup center that could be just as bad (or worse) in the Jazz system. I’m not the biggest Tony Bradley fan, but I’m fine with rolling into the playoffs hoping that Davis is a decent facsimile of the Davis of yore.

So, I think the Jazz would be smarter to address the perceived size discrepancies at forward that exist with both teams in Los Angeles, since any Jazz championship run is nearly certain to require beating one or both teams. Jeff Green was supposed to be that guy—big enough to hold up against James and Anthony Davis for a few minutes, and quick enough to manage George and Leonard on switches. He proved woefully ineffective at those tasks — and most other basketball things. I can trust O’Neale and Ingles against the Clippers, and Bojan Bogdanovic to a limited extent against the Lakers, but I’d like to see another forward option with versatile, defensive chops.

Kincade: Backup center has been talked about a bunch as being the biggest need, but the Jazz need to add another defensive wing in the Marvin Williams/Marcus Morris type. The problem with this is that the Jazz don’t have the salary to match a trade for either of these two. Markieff Morris’s or Mike Scott’s salaries are easier to trade for, but neither guy screams defensive stopper.

We all know Utah won’t trade its All-Stars and can’t trade recent extendees O’Neale and Ingles. What is the best asset the Jazz have that they might actually part with in a deal?

Isaac: None. The Jazz already made their in-season trade in acquiring Clarkson and I doubt they’re inclined to move him given how well he has fit so far. That leaves a bunch of low-salary players and Davis. I think Davis is the most likely to be moved and would be valuable on another team, but it remains to be seen if any other teams value him. Maybe the Rockets would consider Davis as their big off the bench when they’re forced to play big, but I can’t think of much the Rockets could offer the Jazz in return.

Dan: The Jazz aren’t trading Conley or Bogdanovic — trust me on that, and stop floating Conley trade scenarios on the Bird App. But with Mitchell, Gobert, Ingles and O’Neale also off limits, that just doesn’t leave the Jazz a lot to work with. The earliest they can trade their first-rounders unencumbered is 2026 (although they could trade one earlier than that with some protection language), and their seconds aren’t that valuable.

Call me crazy, but I don’t think Clarkson is off limits. Utah doesn’t usually make arbitrage moves like that, treating players solely as commodities to be traded up, so on a certain level it would be an un-Jazzlike move, Clarkson and a second might be the only way they get into an interesting conversation in the next 24 hours. They’d also be open (to varying degrees) to trading any of Niang, Bradley, Davis or Emmanuel Mudiay, but none of those players have terribly high value on their own. The rookies don’t have trade value, and Rayjon Tucker can’t be traded at all.

Dane: Honestly, the Jazz assets aren’t great at the moment. The best package would include Davis, Bradley and Nigel Williams-Goss and maybe a pick that isn’t very good either. To make a decent move, they would have to move Clarkson to free up enough to acquire an 8-figure salary and I’m not sure they’re willing to do that unless it’s a big trade.

Mark: Funnily enough, Clarkson. Clarkson has played well enough to quell initial thoughts that he’d be later upsold for higher-salaried, better players. But he still makes at least two to three horrible team defense decisions per game, and he’s extremely unproven in the playoffs. He’s on an expiring, $13.4 million contract, and that might be viable for a team looking to shed longer-term salary.

Utah’s available picks aren’t likely to net anything of consequence, and Utah historically does not toss them around for limited return. Backup center options like Christian Wood or Jakob Poeltl would require draft pick compensation that Utah can’t (or won’t) offer, and the Jazz don’t have comparable-level prospects to exchange.

Niang is a decent rotation piece and valuable to Utah as a cheap salary, but isn’t good enough to have Utah’s [sliding minivan] doors blown off in trade proposals, and his cheap salary actually makes it more difficult to match with other teams’ better, more expensive players. (This is a lo-fi version of the issue the Lakers face with trading Kyle Kuzma and his $2 million salary.)

Utah’s end-of-roster players are worth more to Utah than other teams, who would just view them as flotsam, save for possibly Mudiay: he’s shown enough potential as a backup point guard but is out of the rotation now that Conley’s healthy. Utah might be able to acquire a relevant 2nd round pick or a different, lower-variance point guard for Mudiay.

The Jazz are not trading Conley.

Kincade: The best asset the Jazz have is Bogdanovic. The Jazz aren’t going to trade him, but hear me out. This past summer he signed a four-year $73 million deal, leading to many experts believing his contract won’t age well as he gets older. This season is arguably his best and his stock will never be higher. Shooting is a premium in the NBA and acquiring players that have gravity will cost a lot. The Jazz aren’t the most athletic team and usually elite athletes who can defend and shoot are usually really good players and hard to get. Using Bogdanovic at his peak to help acquire someone like this might be a smart, forward-thinking idea.

The only players still around from the start of Mitchell’s rookie season are him, Ingles, Gobert, O’Neale and Bradley. At some point, does continuity become a concern if they keep swapping key players out before the group has a chance to gel?

Isaac: Mitchell, Ingles, Gobert and O’Neale form a strong core with great chemistry. As long as that core remains and the new pieces aren’t rotating too frequently, I feel that those four can adapt and gel as needed. The bigger concern, in my opinion, is how well new players adapt to the complicated sets Quin Snyder likes to play. That’s a matter of playbook more than chemistry and, as we’ve seen with Davis, this system is not a fit for everybody.

Dan: Hopefully Mitchell understands that his arrival and ascent are precisely the reason why Utah’s timetable has been hastened and a more aggressive stance on team-building has become appropriate. In other words, while he hasn’t had the greatest degree of roster stability around him in his first 2.5 seasons, he should take that as a compliment. The Jazz believe he and Gobert are a good enough core to climb the mountain with the right pieces around them, and that’s why Lindsey and Zanik have been pushing more chips to the center of the table recently. (Mixed metaphor alert.)  Eventually they do need to chill out and let the thing congeal, but that doesn’t mean they can’t target some shrewd upgrades around the margins. The main guys are certainly not moving this deadline anyway.

Dane: I won’t worry about continuity until we see how these new major pieces (Conley and Bogdanovic) work out. The Jazz tried continuity the last two years and clearly hit their ceiling. I think the new adjustments to the roster will take some tweaking. Building a championship roster isn’t easy.

Mark: There is enough intelligence and good attitude on the team to ease continuity concerns if there is some movement on the roster this season. However, I believe that the ceiling for the 2019-20 Jazz will only be met if Conley and Davis play up to their billing, and there is plenty of time for that to still be true come playoff time. I bet Lindsey and Zanik agree, at least with respect to the Conley piece.

Kincade: Yes, making too many moves can mess up the chemistry on teams. Last year, just hearing his name in trade rumors had a huge effect on Ricky Rubio. The Jazz and a few other teams worry about adding the wrong player who might mess up their teams’ cohesion. Organizations that make trades just to make a trade usually regret them. Lindsey and his staff are well respected around the league and it is likely they factor this into every trade scenario that comes up. In Lindsey we trust. 

Call your shot: give us a name of someone you think the Jazz will (or should) pursue, either ahead of Thursday’s deadline or as a free agent following a buyout.

Isaac: The Jazz had some success last year in bringing back a former Jazzman when they traded for Kyle Korver. With DeMarre Carroll falling out of the rotation in San Antonio and Marvin Williams’ days in Charlotte numbered, the Jazz may look at one or both of them for a reunion. Carroll’s contract goes through 2022 so he won’t be bought out this year but he can likely be acquired from the Spurs just for matching salary. (He makes $7M, so the Jazz would just have to send out $3.9M or more.) Williams is completely out of the rotation in Charlotte and seems like a buyout candidate who may consider a return to Utah.

I also wonder if Ekpe Udoh might be interested in returning as the backup center now that the Chinese Basketball Association canceled foreign player contracts due to concerns over the coronavirus. Udoh would likely want assurances that he’d be the first big off the bench, though. I’m not sure the front office wants to guarantee that given Bradley’s age and some signs of growth with his game.

Dan: Nemanja Bjelica and Aron Baynes are low-salary stretch centers who would give Utah’s second unit a completely different look, but I think both will command too high a price for the Jazz to get in the running. Harry Giles III could apparently be had for a song, and he mildly interests me. He hasn’t really been good yet as a pro, but he was a big, long, athletic pick-and-roll finisher before the injuries happened, and I’m curious to see if he could get any of that back. I’d also keep an eye on any big who gets traded in a multi-team deal, in case the new team cuts him loose. Like, did the Kings actually want Alex Len, or was he just in that trade to make the numbers work? Does Minnesota keep Juancho Hernangomez? (Juancho is too good to simply get bought out, but maybe Minney would consider flipping him.) I like Thomas Bryant a lot, but the Wiz don’t appear to be selling. The Knicks have about a dozen rotation-quality power forwards, but asking prices are reportedly too high at the moment.

Dane: The name many of us have discussed is Baynes. He’s on a small contract, so Baynes for Davis works straight across. But what makes Phoenix want that deal? The Jazz may have to give a little more to get him but I personally think he’d be an excellent addition. And possibly the only move out there for the Jazz.

Mark: Despite my wishes, I think the Jazz are going to seek backup center options. My best idea is that the Jazz will attach a 2nd round pick to Davis for Orlando center Khem Birch. Birch is probably not better than Davis, but he has legitimate rim-protection chops that enable the Jazz to retain a similar defensive scheme from when Gobert is on the court. While Birch is stuck behind Nikola Vucevic and Mo Bamba, the Jazz would still need to add the pick to convince Orlando to take the additional $2 million in salary this year and next. I do think the Jazz will make a play for buyout candidate players, but players like Tristan Thompson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and former Jazzman Williams are going to choose other teams.

Kincade: Let’s build upon my previous answer of trading Bogdanovic in an effort to add more athleticism to the Jazz. One player that has been on Jazz fans’ radar since he was drafted is Aaron Gordon. There aren’t many players more athletic in this league than him and he’s been miscast in Orlando as a wing. The Jazz would play him as power forward and at times move him to backup center. Basically use him the way the Warriors use Draymond Green. Gordon ranks 21st among power forward in defensive real plus-minus, so the defense is there. Swapping Bogdanovic for Gordon would improve the Jazz defense and hopefully make it elite again. The Jazz would lose some shooting but they also have three guys on their roster shooting over 40% from three so they should be okay in this area.

For Orlando, their biggest need is shooting, and getting one of the best shooters in the game who can also create on his own would be huge for them. If the Jazz were going to do this trade, Orlando would need to add something else to this trade. Adding a first-round pick or a player like Birch would even out this trade and make sense for both sides.