The NBA Draft starts Wednesday, and the rumor mill is heating up around the Utah Jazz. Here’s the latest news, along with my reaction to the possibilities.
Trading for Mikal Bridges?
Rumor: Yahoo’s Jake Fischer reported that the Jazz are one of the teams interested in trading for Brooklyn wing Mikal Bridges, along with Houston and New York. Bridges is one of “Utah’s most aggressive aspirations,” Fischer wrote.
Reaction: The Nets have repeatedly declined to trade Bridges despite it probably making sense for the franchise to do so. Instead, they’ve been asking for more than three first-round picks in return for the 27-year-old.
Bridges would make the Jazz significantly better; he’s developed himself into a 20-point-per-game scorer while also being a solid defender. He’s the two-way player with size that these most recent playoffs have shown are extremely valuable. (Though we should note here that he was a far better player before the All-Star break than after it last year.)
The problem is that it’s not immediately clear that the Jazz would be a playoff team even with Bridges — he was an eight-win player last season, and the Jazz finished 15 wins short of the No. 10 seed. For an acquisition of Bridges to make sense, Utah would probably need to acquire other good players around him and Lauri Markkanen to get up in that 45-win range required to make the playoffs in the West. Still, it could be an exciting first step.
Trading for Zach LaVine?
Rumor: The Bulls “remain active” on trade negotiations sending out Zach LaVine involving the Jazz and the Philadelphia 76ers, according to NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson. However, reporter Marc Stein disagreed with the report, saying he had been “advised to dismiss Utah’s interest.”
Reaction: Johnson’s a quality veteran reporter, but I agree with Stein. While I haven’t heard recent updates, Jazz personnel earlier this year indicated that LaVine wasn’t a logical option in the pre-trade deadline market given the Jazz’s place in the standings, LaVine’s poor record of availability, and especially his high contract that pays him a combined $138 million over the next three years.
Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine (8) scores past Toronto Raptors’ Gary Trent Jr. (33) during the first half of an NBA basketball In-Season Tournament game Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, in Toronto. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
I don’t suspect circumstances have changed enough since to make a LaVine trade make sense now, at least not a trade in which the Jazz are giving up assets. If anything, it might require Chicago to send out assets to push the Jazz to take on LaVine’s deal.
Signing Tobias Harris?
Rumor: The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that the Jazz and the Detroit Pistons “are expected to be the strongest suitors for Tobias Harris,” who is a free agent this summer after his 5-year, $180 million albatross of a deal ended with the 76ers.
Reaction: The Jazz will likely have about $40 million in cap space this summer. Some of that room the franchise anticipates using on Markkanen’s renegotiation and extension as the Finnish star enters the final year of his current contract.
Boston Celtics’ Al Horford (42) defends against Philadelphia 76ers’ Tobias Harris (12) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Harris is theoretically someone who could help the Jazz. At this point in his career, he’s statistically pretty average across the board — his shooting, rebounding, passing, steals, and block rates are just around the 50th percentile, maybe a bit higher. Even average, though, would make Harris the Jazz’s best wing by a lot.
He turns 32 this summer, so Harris doesn’t make sense for the Jazz’s long-term future, and signing him would also mean fewer minutes for last year’s No. 9 pick, Taylor Hendricks. But if they could get him on a short-term deal for a discount, he could also be a tradable piece in a move later while helping the Jazz improve now.
Looking to move up?
Rumor: Multiple reporters indicated that the Jazz are looking to move up in the draft using the No. 29 pick and the No. 32 pick. First, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported Monday morning that the Jazz are looking to trade the two picks for a “pick in the late teens.” Arizona sports radio host John Gambadoro reported that he believed that the Suns had had discussions with the Jazz, sending the No. 22 pick to Utah for No. 29 and No. 32. Fischer, meanwhile, floated the idea of the Jazz acquiring No. 17 from the Lakers in exchange for the two picks.
Reaction: Jazz general manager Justin Zanik acknowledged that the club has reservations about having six first- or second-year players on the roster next season, the logical outcome if the team makes all three selections on Wednesday. So the Jazz consolidating these picks in this fashion follows that line of thinking, especially if they are targeting a player they believe is significantly better than what’s available around the turn of the draft.
My only concern is that, in general, teams trading up in drafts get a little less value than those trading down when you study the issue analytically. The NBA Draft Pick Trade Simulator at nbasense.com is a good tool for looking at this — trading No. 29 and No. 32 for No. 17 is a pretty fair deal, but trading those picks for No. 22 would be analytically a bad idea. That’s especially true in a “flat” draft, where players’ values are considered pretty close throughout the first round.
If the Jazz are going to defy the analytics, they should be really sure that the player they’re acquiring with the higher pick is worth giving up two chances to place bets further down in the draft.
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