Utah Jazz: Eight potential trade targets (and how realistic they truly are)

Dario Saric

Philadelphia 76ers forward Dario Saric is a name that has popped up several times on Jazz Twitter as a sought-after trade piece. While there hasn’t been a lot of noise around a potential Saric trade, some have hypothesized that in Philly’s crowded frontcourt, he could ultimately be the odd man out.

This article from the Ringer available via the link in the tweet below does a nice job of explaining that very train of thought. In a nutshell, author Kevin O’Connor points out that while Saric is an important piece for the Sixers right now, the role he is playing with them behind Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid is taking out one of the most prolific aspects of his game – his playmaking ability.

In other words, Saric may be able to thrive better in a different role on another team, Philly might have a hard time paying for him along with their other young talent down the road and, thus, may be better off moving him for a more pressing need at the moment.

If there were some grains of truth in this and the Sixers were willing to part with Saric, this would be a move that I would be in support of the Jazz pursuing. The young man out of Croatia is averaging 13.6 points per game and is filling a stretch-four role well by shooting 37.2 percent from deep this season. That’s an area where he still seems to have plenty of room to grow and improve as well.

Adding an effective big man who can stretch the floor and who has the potential to be a dynamic playmaker on offense sounds about exactly what the Jazz need. Yes, there’s some concerns about his defense, but tell me who outside of Thabo Sefolosha in the right match-ups hasn’t been a concern defensively at the four for Utah?

The other nice thing about Saric is that he’s on an extremely affordable contract that has two more years left on it after this season while also including a team option for 2019-20. There’s a lot to like about that in regards to affording him and having flexibility with him should he not pan out as the Jazz might like.

In terms of what the Jazz could trade for him, Philly might be willing to take on some veterans on friendly contracts to help mentor their young guns without hampering them too much down the road. It’s far from a guarantee, but it’s at least feasible.

In short, I think trading for Saric would be an absolute home run for the Jazz. Unfortunately, I also don’t think it’s very realistic at all. While there is some reason behind moving him, Philly has made no indication that they’re aiming to trade such a promising and important player and as such, I severely doubt that they’re really going to be looking to give him up. Even if they are, I have a feeling their asking price would be higher than the Jazz would be able to pull off.

If by some miracle Saric becomes available and the Jazz can snag him, then great! But I wouldn’t count on it in the least.