NBA Trade Deal Proposals for the Utah Jazz

Joe Ingles to the Houston Rockets

Dan writes –

"Alleviating Corey Brewer’s workload should be the main priority. He’s shooting just under 20 percent on three-point looks, and his defense has long been a tick overrated. Joe Ingles is a more suitable option for what Houston needs. He has swished 38 percent of his triples since entering the NBA in 2014-15 and is a decent defensive option at the 3 and 4. He has even guarded some 2s during his time with the Jazz. Utah isn’t in the business of dealing players mid season, period. But Ingles is buried behind Gordon Hayward and Joe Johnson, he will be a free agent this summer, and the Jazz probably won’t be able to foot his bill after paying George Hill and Hayward. Rodney Hood will be extension-eligible too. Enticing Utah with K.J. McDaniels and a 2017 second-round pick (via Denver or Portland) should get Houston somewhere. General manager Daryl Morey can also see if there are enough second-round sweeteners for the Jazz to take on Brewer."

I recently wrote an article around fake trades, and whenever player X starts performing well team Y will start speculating on how to trade for player X. Joe Ingles has recently been playing the best basketball of his NBA career.

The Jazz could not be more grateful that he’s able to fill in so adequately for Gordon Hayward and Rodney Hood. He attributes his good play to his family finally joining him in the US after Visa issues in Australia. Whatever it is, don’t stop doing it!

Ingles has become the most reliable bench rotation player. He has the best microwave on the team, meaning he doesn’t need to touch the ball a couple times to warm up and get going. Joe can jump right in and contribute regardless of the guys he’s playing with. He is taking the open looks generated by the motion of the offense with much less hesitancy than he did at the start of the year.

For a team that struggled mightily at shooting the three last season, he is making 48% of his attempts from long range this season. Quin Snyder will always find time on the court for Ingles with that kind of production.

Now for this trade idea, it makes little sense from the Utah prospective. K.J McDaniels is playing two-thirds of Ingles’ minutes per game and shooting 33 percent from deep. Ingles has been making his bread at being able to play and defend three positions. When considering win shares (an estimated amount of wins a player contributes per 48 minutes), the league average is .100. McDaniels is .076 while Ingles is .163.

For a team that is struggling with health, McDaniels would be a significant downgrade as a Hood/Hayward backup. I do not see Snyder signing off on any deal moving Ingles for a wing with a career field goal average of 40 percent no matter how many 2nd rounders are thrown in.

While I agree that Utah probably won’t be able to afford Ingles after this season, I see them getting everything they can out of him this year. Also, don’t forget Ingles is Hayward’s best friend on the team. If you are trying to re-sign your best player on the team, don’t trade his best friend.