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

Jabari Parker

Here’s the trade option that’s going to make several Jazz fans drool. It’s no secret that Jabari Parker has been a highly coveted target among the Utah faithful for some time. Many have attributed that to the fact that they hope that Parker’s LDS ties could inspire him to stay in Salt Lake City well beyond a single contract, but of course there’s no guarantee of that by any means.

That aside, Parker has the potential of being a perfect fit on the court in Utah as well. He’s exceptionally built to be a dynamic, playmaking four which is exactly the kind of player that the Jazz are looking for to put alongside Rudy Gobert. Last season, prior to yet another ACL injury, Parker was averaging 20.1 points on 49 percent shooting from the field and a respectable 36.5 percent from deep. The Jazz would certainly hope that his three-point percentage could continue to climb, but those are extremely solid numbers for a Jazz team starving for offense.

Parker also has the tools to be a solid defender as well, which would only solidify his fit in Utah. In almost every way imaginable, it would appear that Jabari would be an absolute perfect fit with the Jazz and a move that Utah should absolute pursue.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a perfect world, especially for Utah Jazz fans.

First and foremost, as nice as it would be to get Parker, I don’t think it’s likely that the Bucks will deal him. Prior to his ACL injuries, Parker was touted as one of the league’s next elite players and I don’t think they’ll be willing to give up on him so quickly. He’s a restricted free agent at the end of this year, which might be a better time for Utah to pursue him anyway, but it’s quite likely that Milwaukee will match any offer sheet that comes his way.

Due to his injuries, Milwaukee will have a good shot at signing him to a relatively favorable deal and, in my mind, would be foolish to trade him before knowing what sort of offers are being extended to him, unless a team is willing to give them a ton of value in return at the trade deadline. And unfortunately, Utah doesn’t have nearly enough value to fill what the Bucks front office would be looking for, I’m afraid.

Therefore, this trade idea is likely dead in the water from the onset given that if the Bucks are smart, they’ll wait to see what it takes to retain Parker in restricted free agency before even thinking about trading him and because the Jazz likely don’t have enough to steal him away anyway.

Even if Utah were able to trade for him, his injury history is certainly a massive concern. And while he appears to be a perfect fit, he does need to improve in several aspects including his aforementioned three-point shooting efficiency. It would be a shame if Utah traded for him, then either broke the bank to pay him at the end of this season only to have him suffer further injury or fail to fit in.

I love the idea of Jabari Parker in Utah playing alongside Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. Unfortunately, as many Jazz fans will likely have to accept sooner rather than later, it’s probably little more than a pipe dream.