Utah Jazz: Available players that could be pursued in a trade

A recent ESPN article from Adrian Wojnarowski suggested at the availability of several players across the league, some of which could be intriguing for the Utah Jazz to pursue.

Trade season is fully upon us and while the rumors had been slow in surfacing up to this point, a recent article from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski did a good job of stirring the pot and getting things going on social media. The renowned dropper of Woj bombs listed several players in his recent piece that he alluded to as being quite available on the trade market.

It also just so happens, that the Utah Jazz have a very good chance of being active at the trade deadline and could therefore find some of those available players of interest. Of course, the tricky thing about trades is that it’s all about finding a deal that satisfies both parties. Unfortunately for the Jazz, they might not have quite the most appealing trade options on their end, thus some of these guys may out of reach.

Still others may not be worth it at all and others fall somewhere in between, but they’re all at least fun to consider. Three of the ones that Wojnarowski mentioned – Evan Fournier, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson – are guys that I already brought up in a former trade piece that I recently published last week, so for insight on them be sure to check it out via the link in the tweet below:

But if you’ve already read up on them, then go ahead and join me in looking through this latest batch of players that Woj has indicated as available and that may very well merit a second look from the Utah Jazz as they look to make significant improvements via the trade market.

Lou Williams

Ironically enough, Lou Williams is a player that the Utah Jazz were reportedly interested in at last year’s trade deadline although no such deal came to fruition and instead the sixth man extraordinaire was moved to the Houston Rockets. He now finds himself as a member of the LA Clippers, where he landed as part of the Chris Paul deal, and is potentially on the trade block once again.

But Williams certainly looks as though he’d be an excellent piece if added to the right situation. He’s putting up a career-high 21.9 points per game on 44.5 percent shooting from the field and a career-best 40.6 percent from the three-point line. Lou has always been an excellent scorer and his improved efficiency this season has made him even more of a weapon.

He’s also on an expiring contract worth just $7 million this season, which makes him a nice low-risk option for a team looking for a boost to close out the year.

https://twitter.com/LAClippers/status/948283390448422913

I actually really like Lou Williams and was all aboard the train to trade for him last year to add an electrifying shooter that’s been much more reliable than Rodney Hood. If Williams had more than just this year left on his contract for that affordable amount, I’d be all for the Jazz making a move for him. However, there’s a slim chance that he would stick around after this year and he’ll very likely command a higher salary after this season as well.

Therefore, while Utah could certainly make use of his scoring ability especially in his exceptional sixth man role, it probably doesn’t quite make sense at this year’s deadline. In terms of pure talent, Williams would likely be a nice fit. Unfortunately, with a playoff push seeming somewhat bleak at this point of the season, he likely doesn’t help the Jazz enough long-term which will be more what they’re looking for at this season’s deadline.

Maybe the Jazz will look into acquiring Williams’ services once again this season, but I have a hard time seeing any sort of deal going through. The Clippers may very well look to move him as they gear up to prepare for the future, but I sincerely doubt there will be a fitting package that will work for both teams.

DeMarre Carroll

Let’s be honest, if it was only a matter of personnel and not of money, what Jazz fan wouldn’t want to welcome the Junkyard Dog back to the fold? After all, he had his breakout years with the Jazz and was always a dependable and hard-working player who played with so much grit and heart that endeared him to the fans. Not only that, but he has expressed his appreciation and respect for Utah and the Jazz organization on several occasions on Twitter.

As far as his character and effort, there’s no denying that Carroll would be an exceptional fit. Unfortunately, there’s also money to consider, and the two years and over $30 million that he’s still owed don’t exactly match up with what his true worth would be.

Carroll’s best years came in Atlanta after which he received a hefty payday from the Toronto Raptors. Unfortunately, he never really lived up to that contract which is why the Raptors eventually were forced to dump him in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets, as KSL’s Andy Larsen reminds us in the tweet below:

And he hasn’t exactly been a model of consistency this season as he’s shooting 39.4 percent from the field and just 33.7 percent from deep. That’s discouraging, especially considering the amount the Jazz would have to pay him. The Nets would likely be happy to get his salary off their books and honestly I’d love the energy, tenacious D and familiarity with the fans that Carroll would bring if Utah were to make a deal for him.

Nevertheless, none of those three things are anywhere close to being worth $30 million.

Kent Bazemore

In the Adrian Wojnarowski piece, Kent Bazemore is listed as being pursued by other teams along with the likes of Alec Burks and DeMarre Carroll. While I suppose it’s possible that each of those three guys are being pursued, I find it somewhat hard to believe that any are in too great of demand considering that they’re all in relatively unfriendly contracts.

Speaking purely in terms of what he brings to the basketball court, I really like Kent Bazemore and honestly think he could be a nice fit for the Jazz in terms of his energy, effort and 3-and-D potential. He’s shooting a respectable 38.8 percent from deep, which is a career high, and on a better team could very well flourish as an effective role player.

However, I don’t know that a guy that’s averaging just 12.4 points per game on 41.5 percent shooting from the field is really worth the substantial amount of money that Bazemore is owed over the next few seasons. He’s scheduled to make $16.9 million this season and that increases to $19.2 million by the 2019-20 season. As I said, I like Bazemore and I think the Jazz could maximize his talent, but that’s still a heck of risk to take on far from a sure thing.

The Hawks, who are in clear rebuild mode, may very well be interested in shedding Bazemore’s contract and taking on some of Utah’s expiring deals to clear space for themselves in the near future as they look to bring in young assets for a promising future. In that regard, I could definitely see them getting a deal done.

Nevertheless, in spite of all of Bazemore’s positives, I don’t know that he’s quite what the Jazz are looking for and his contract would likely scare them off from doing a deal.

Larry Nance Jr.

As I mentioned previously, in my former piece on potential trade targets for the Utah Jazz, I mentioned two Los Angeles Lakers – Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson – who are clearly on the trade block. However, in Woj’s recent piece about the trade deadline, he indicated that the Lakers have also made Larry Nance Jr. available as well.

I’ve got to get a little bit of homerism out of the way right here and now – as someone who was born and raised as a Wyoming fan (Nance’s alma mater) and has followed Nance closely since his college years, I would be absolutely thrilled to see him end up in a Jazz jersey. He’s an exciting young player known for his relentless hustle, being a willing defender and being incredibly athletic especially for his size.

He boasts a lot of skills and tools that I think Quin Snyder and Utah’s development staff could work wonders with. He’s been somewhat inconsistent with the Lakers and isn’t exactly a stretch-four in the sense that he’d be a force from three, but he is shooting 59.3 percent from the field and has the potential to be a solid mid-range guy, so there’s certainly opportunity for him to be a nice fit.

Nance wouldn’t instantly elevate the Jazz into another echelon by any means, but he’s exactly the caliber of player and person that would fit with the Jazz organization. He’s a tireless worker with a strong determination to win and a class act. As a spark off the bench, he could help insert some much-needed energy to an often flat-footed Utah Jazz team.

What’s also nice about Nance is that he still has one more year after this season on his rookie contract making him an affordable asset with plenty of room to blossom with the Jazz before hitting restricted free agency. Given that LA seems open to moving him and may be willing to take on some vets on expiring contracts to help mentor this year’s young team while also paving the road to clearing cap space to bring in a star this summer in free agency, I think there’s definitely a window of opportunity for the Lakers and Jazz to reach an agreement.

I don’t know that Nance is exactly on Utah’s radar, but I think he could be a solid, young and affordable piece that they should definitely be willing to look into. After all, he could very well be one of the more realistic power forward options that they could acquire rather than lose guys like Derrick Favors or Joe Johnson in free agency for nothing.

Ersan Ilyasova

Much like was the situation with Kent Bazemore, the Atlanta Hawks are very likely going to be open and willing to dealing just about anyone on their roster that isn’t a young and promising prospect. Therefore, it came as little surprise that Ersan Ilyasova was one of the guys that Woj mentioned in his recent piece.

Ilyasova isn’t a jaw-dropper by any stretch of the imagination, but he does have merit as a veteran stretch-four that could be a nice fit for the Jazz alongside Rudy Gobert. He’s converting on nearly 40 percent of his three-point attempts this season and is more versatile on both ends of the floor than he gets credit for.

The risk involved with Ilyasova is that he is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. Therefore, Utah probably wouldn’t be wise to trade for him unless they felt certain that they could re-sign him at the conclusion of the year. He is only making $6 million this season and probably could be retained at about that same amount, but there’s still risk involved if Utah gives up assets for someone who may not stick around.

Not only that, but I don’t think that Ilyasova would make the team that much better. He’s not all that much different from a Jonas Jerebko type and unless Utah does the deal simply out of a desire to get something out of a guy that’s going to leave in free agency anyway, I don’t see them being too eager to move on a deal for Ilyasova.

Once again, the Hawks may be willing to take some guys off of Utah’s hands, but I don’t believe that Ilyasova will exactly fit what the Jazz are looking for.

Tyreke Evans

Tyreke Evans has had quite the interesting career full of ups and downs. However, although he’s currently a member of a disappointing Memphis Grizzlies team, this season has certainly been one of his ups as he has played fantastic in 2017-18. He’s currently averaging 19.7 points per game on 47.1 percent shooting from the field and 41.6 percent from deep. He’s also filling the stat sheet with right around five assists and five rebounds per game.

In other words, Evans could prove to be a dynamic piece for the Utah Jazz who could definitely use his scoring and playmaking ability. Particularly if Utah moved Donovan Mitchell over to the starting point guard spot and allowed Evans to play alongside him in the backcourt, they could become a pretty dynamic duo.

However, there are quite a few risks involved with Evans. First of all, although he’s certainly outplaying his $3.3 million dollar contract for this season, his history could leave one to believe that he might revert to his previous inconsistent ways. Not only that, but there’s no guarantee that he would stay in Utah beyond this season once his contract expires and, even if he was willing to, he might play himself out of a reasonable price range for the Jazz.

Not only that, but Wojnarowski reported that the Grizzlies, who are clearly entering a major rebuild stage, will likely want a first-round pick for Evans. Although he’s been a joy to watch this season, I don’t think the Jazz will be willing to give up a first-rounder for a guy who’s been far from consistent during his career.

If Utah could steal Evans without giving up such a valuable pick and if they could somehow have an assurance that they could keep him on the roster at a reasonable price after he hits free agency, I’d be pretty excited about welcoming him aboard to play alongside Donovan Mitchell. However, with a number of risks surrounding him and an asking price from Memphis that could be too high, I don’t see Utah being able to swing a deal that would send him their way.

Next: Utah Jazz: Why Mirotic to the Jazz is a “win-win-win”

The Utah Jazz most certainly have a lot of options, but finding one that’s mutually beneficial to them and to the team they’d be dealing with is going to be far from easy. The guys on this list are some of the more reasonable ones that Woj mentioned as being available that Utah could pursue, but most of them are still far from a sure thing.

One thing is certain, the Jazz will need to look to make some changes if they hope to put themselves in a better position in the coming years, so whether it’s with one of the players on this list or someone who becomes available that hasn’t been reported as on the trade block yet, I’d be shocked if we don’t see them make some kind of move.

There’s a lot of intriguing possibilities and it will be exciting to see when and for who the Utah Jazz finally pull the trigger.