3 Trade Scenarios for the Utah Jazz to Find a New Center

The Utah Jazz are in the market to add a new center to their roster following their decision to ship out Walker Kessler to the Los Angeles Lakers.

They’ve already made a few moves to bolster their five spot in the first few days of free agency. Utah signed former Lakers big man Jaxson Hayes to a two-year deal, and re-signed a veteran of their own in Jusuf Nurkic that gives them at least some depth to lean on. But their work still might not be done trying to replace their defensive anchor in the middle.

Perhaps they could bring in another name off of free agency––or just maybe, they could look towards the trade market to address their hole at center, where there also might be a few intriguing veterans to target and fill their biggest need at the moment.

With that in mind, let’s look into three potential trade scenarios that the Jazz could consider to do just that:

Utah Provides Orlando With Bench Scoring

A simple one-for-one swap of guys on expiring deals; this could be an easy way for the Jazz to add another depth big man in the form of Bitadze, while sending Sensabaugh to a team that desperately needs another layer of shooting and scoring upside.

Bitadze has been a reliable rotational big since arriving in Orlando in 2023, posting an average of 6.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks a night in around 17 minutes a night. It’s easy to imagine him filling into a similar, defensive-focused role within Utah’s second unit.

Considering the Magic now have Wendell Carter Jr., newly-signed Nikola Vucevic, and Bitadze on top of it, it feels like one of the existing pieces from this frontcourt could be on the move. It sets up a perfect opportunity for the Jazz to strike and get ahead of Sensabaugh’s extension situation.

Utah Adds a New Starting Center Via Dallas

The most appealing center who could be on the block within this list: Daniel Gafford has been someone already placed into various trade rumors during the past few weeks of this offseason. That’s great news for the Jazz, who make perfect sense as a suitor to host him as a starting center for next season.

Gafford’s most recent time in Dallas has been the best stretch of his career in terms of statistics: he’s logged averages of 11.0 points and 6.9 rebounds a night while shooting an impressive 70% from the field. He’s not someone to expand his game much further than inside the arc, but as a lob threat and interior presence, there’s a lot to work with.

Utah would have to give up a bit of a bigger package in this one compared to what someone like Bitadze might command from Orlando. But Gafford’s locked in under contract for multiple years, and a more capable threat on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. So he’s worth the investment.

Utah Lands More Future Assets From Denver

A deal like this certainly wouldn’t be groundbreaking by any means. Someone of Zeke Nnaji’s caliber might even slot below Jaxson Hayes on the depth chart, and the returning draft picks for Utah tell you the type of asset he is on the trade market.

But the Nuggets are in a position to prioritize adding defense, shedding big men from their roster, and lessening their cap burden. This deal does just that, and only requires them to relinquish their two seconds received in their draft trade down from last month’s draft to do so.

Maybe the Jazz can unlock something from Nnaji’s game this coming season as a reserve big man––considering he’s averaged less than four points per game in the last three years––and if not, they get compensated with future draft picks to add him to their roster.

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