Trade Rumors: Enes Kanter Demands Trade

The Utah Jazz desperately need a 3-and-D guy on the wing next to Gordon Hayward.  Tony Snell could be the answer.  At 6’7″ with a 6’11.5″ wingspan, Snell is a very long wing defender.  Athleticism adds to his potential as a lockdown defender.  Snell is hitting on 34.2% of his three point attempts this year, which is up from 32% last year.  Snell would fit in nicely into Quin Snyder’s defensive system.  He can take some of the defensive burden that Hayward carries on a nightly basis.

Kirk Hinrich is not great at this point in his career.  He is a decent defender, but is shooting career lows from the field and from the three point line.  Kirk is included in this deal solely for salary reasons, though he would likely resume duties as the back up point guard.

The Bulls are currently fighting for home court advantage in the Eastern Conference.  The biggest concern with them is the health of Derrick Rose.  If he goes down they need a capable point-guard to take over.  They also need to have players on the team that can take some of the workload off Rose on a day-to-day basis to help keep him healthy.

Trey Burke would help the Bulls with all of the above.  Aaron Brooks is currently on the Bulls roster and has helped with these issue as well.  Brooks, however, is only on a single season deal.  He has played good enough that he will be moving on after the season.  Burke gives the Bulls cheap solution for a couple years to come.  Nate Robinson thrived in Chicago, and Burke could fill that role.

"“A lot of Chicago Bulls fans would love the idea of getting rid of Kirk Hinrich. He has not offered much this season, yet Tom Thibodeau won’t stop putting him in the lineup. Getting Burke would be a nice addition to the roster, but we are not sure if giving up Snell or McDermott  at this time would be something management would do, even if it meant giving up Hinrich."

"Snell has stepped up big lately and is in the starting lineup with Dunleavy out. McDermott has a lot of potential, but has not received the playing time yet. Burke would be a nice option for the Bulls coming off of the bench behind Derrick Rose."

"I am not sure if the Bulls would do it unless they had more concerns on Derrick getting injured again. Aaron Brooks is already a very capable backup on the roster and the team has done well at finding different journeyman point guards to produce on the court.”"

As Ernie notes, the Jazz may need to include something to sweeten the pot.  The Utah Jazz have 12 second round picks in years 2015-2018, so they would likely be willing to include one to get someone like Snell.

You can find this trade on ESPN’s trade machine here.

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