Utah Jazz: Kidd firing likely lessens already slim chances at landing Jabari

With Jason Kidd, who apparently had a bad relationship with Jabari Parker, out as head coach in Milwaukee, the Utah Jazz’s chances of landing Parker in a trade likely got even slimmer.

As the Utah Jazz struggle through a year wrought with injury, inconsistency, disappointment and ever-swirling trade rumors, it’s become overwhelmingly clear that the team could use a bit of a mix-up and perhaps some new blood. The Jazz have limped to a 20-28 record and although they’ve logged a few encouraging victories, their gut-wrenching defeats have been far more prevalent.

With all that being the case, it’s become almost common knowledge that the Jazz are likely to be major players leading up to this year’s trade deadline with practically every guy on the roster, save Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, available and some perhaps being openly shopped such as Derrick Favors, Joe Johnson, Rodney Hood, Alec Burks and Ricky Rubio.

And as Utah Jazz fans join in on the speculation and trade rumor frenzy, there are a few names from opposing teams that have seemingly popped up dozens of times that the Utah faithful would love to see added to their ranks. One of the most common of those has been the Milwaukee Bucks’ Jabari Parker.

Parker has had a pretty interesting NBA career thus far. As the second overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Jabari was heralded as a future star, the likes of which could very well find himself among the NBA’s all-time elite. However, a pair of ACL injuries has severely limited Parker since being selected nearly four years ago. He played just 25 games his first season, missed 31 games last year and has yet to take the court in 2017-18.

However, during his 51 games played in 2016-17, he started to show just why he received so much clout leading up to the draft. Parker put up 20.1 points per game on nearly 50 percent shooting from the field and a respectable 36.5 percent from deep, all while adding 6.2 rebounds, nearly three assists and a steal per contest.

Thus, it could very well be said that Jabari has had a seesaw of a career. On one hand, he’s shown capable of being the star that the Bucks organization hoped he would be. On the other, he’s been injury prone and unable to help his team by staying on the court. And that’s what makes his impending restricted free agency so intriguing.

Do the Bucks fork out big dollars to get him to stay? Do opposing teams take the risk of signing a big offer sheet? If they do, could he realistically be pried away?

With some theorizing that Milwaukee would be hesitant to pay him this offseason, Jabari Parker has been on the radar of several Jazz fans that would like their team to make a run at him prior to this season’s trade deadline. Many have surmised that with an already hefty payroll, the Bucks might get skittish about signing the injury-plagued Parker long-term and might instead be willing to deal him now.

Hypothetically (and if he stayed healthy), he could be a great playmaking stretch-four for the Jazz that would fit nicely alongside Rudy Gobert, so the logic is certainly there even though it comes with its risks.

Nevertheless, the recent news that the Milwaukee Bucks have opted to part ways with head coach Jason Kidd may very well mean the end of Utah’s already slim chances of landing Jabari Parker. Why’s that you ask? Well, in a recent article from the Racine Journal Times, reporter Gery Woelfel pointed out several examples of Kidd and Parker’s rocky relationship. It was pretty clear that the two didn’t see eye to eye as Kidd was apparently unnecessarily tough on him and Parker had fallen out of his favor.

In fact, the Racine Journal Times reports that Kidd actually tried to trade Jabari early in his career. This combined with the sour relationship between the two seems to indicate that perhaps had Kidd been kept in place, he might have sought and been able to convince the Bucks front office to move Jabari, potentially making him an attractive option for the Jazz.

However, with Kidd being fired earlier this week, that seems like a pretty clear signal that the organization is choosing Parker (and perhaps other disgruntled players) over Jason Kidd. Acquiring Parker in a trade before he hits restricted free agency always felt like a long shot, but with Kidd, the main guy that may have pushed to deal him, out in Milwaukee and the Bucks likely anxious to see how good Parker truly can be alongside the rest of their young core, it’s probably now a near impossibility.

The one interesting aspect to keep an eye on, however, is that the Bucks’ legitimate and established star Giannis Antetokounmpo was reportedly ‘devastated’ by Kidd’s firing. For a guy that apparently rubbed a lot of his players the wrong way, it’s interesting that Kidd would be so staunchly defended by the face of the franchise.

Maybe Antetokounmpo will now be upset with the Bucks organization and the Jazz can make a run at him instead of Jabari! I’m just kidding, calm down (but wouldn’t that be something!).

But in all seriousness, if Giannis truly was a big fan of Jason Kidd, who apparently was quite the polarizing figure in the locker room, there could very well be some semblance of discord in Milwaukee. And discord usually brings about change. If the Kidd fallout causes enough of a disturbance that the Bucks look to make some changes, then perhaps a deal to acquire Parker or nabbing him in restricted free agency could still be a possibility.

Is it likely? No, not at all. Is it something to keep an eye on? Without a doubt. Jabari Parker’s injury history and the poor injury luck of the Utah Jazz aside, the guy still has the chance to be an absolute star in this league, so if he can be had for a manageable price, the Jazz could benefit big time if they look to strike.

Next: Utah Jazz at Detroit Pistons: Jazz remain perfect…. in overtime

Jason Kidd’s firing likely will crush any pipe dreams of the Utah Jazz being able to net Jabari Parker in a trade this year, but perhaps it will cause enough turbulence that other opportunities involving the Milwaukee Bucks will arise down the road.