It’s official, Nikola Mirotic is off the table for the Utah Jazz

Although Nikola Mirotic was connected to the Utah Jazz in several trade rumors, that option is off the table as he was dealt to the New Orleans Pelicans today.

Ever since NBA trade rumors started heating up this season, there has been plenty of speculation connecting the Chicago Bulls’ stretch-four Nikola Mirotic with the Utah Jazz. Not only did his style and abilities seem like they’d fit seamlessly in Quin Snyder’s system, but Niko also voiced interest in suiting up for the Jazz.

Nevertheless, although earlier a purported deal to send Mirotic to New Orleans fell apart, creating some hope that he could still be had by the Jazz, ultimately Chicago and the New Orleans Pelicans came to an agreement and a Mirotic deal was finalized today. The hold-up for the deal going through was the second year team option on Nikola’s contract, but the Pelicans finally opted to guarantee the second year which allowed Chicago to deal Mirotic without his permission in spite of the no-trade clause in his contract.

From there, a deal was struck which sent Mirotic to the Pelicans in exchange for a 2018 protected first-round pick, Omer Asik (whose contract New Orleans was simply looking to dump), Tony Allen and Jameer Nelson. Considering that the Pelicans just lost DeMarcus Cousins to injury for the remainder of the season, Mirotic could very well provide a big lift to their frontcourt.

He’s been an exceptional stretch-four this season as he’s putting up 16.8 points per game while shooting 42.9 percent from behind the arc. His fit alongside Anthony Davis will be the most interesting aspect of the deal, however, there is wide speculation that an additional motivating factor of the trade was to clear cap space in order to allow the Pelicans sign Greg Monroe who was recently bought out by the Phoenix Suns.

If Monroe is brought into the fold, it’s likely that he’ll fill the center position with Anthony Davis playing at power forward and Mirotic could instead be a deadly weapon off the bench. Whatever ends up being the case there, it’s a near certainty that New Orleans will soon have a versatile and dangerous frontcourt regardless of who starts and who comes off the bench as they look to make some noise in the Western Conference playoff race.

Missing out on Nikola Mirotic feels like a let-down to many Jazz fans who were anxious to see the big man in Utah, especially since he’d shown such an interest in playing for Quin Snyder. He certainly was an intriguing fit and several reports confirmed that Jazz brass was indeed seriously pursuing him.

The fact that he didn’t end up in Utah is likely a result of one or more of a few possibilities. The most likely is that Chicago’s asking price was simply too high – a first-round pick would have been a lot for Utah to give up for a somewhat streaky and unproven Mirotic. With the Jazz feeling like their pick was worth more to them than him, perhaps they sought a third team to supply the pick in some sort of deal, but obviously that kind of transaction wasn’t in the cards.

The other reason why the Jazz may have ultimately passed is because perhaps Mirotic wasn’t exactly their top choice as many have presumed. It seems certain that Utah was looking long and hard at him, but it’s entirely possible that even if Chicago had asked for less, the Jazz might have been hesitant due to some other plan in the works. We may never know whether or not that was the case unless Utah pulls off something big in the coming week, but it’s still a possibility nonetheless.

Or, last of all, it’s entirely possible that Utah full-out wanted Mirotic, but couldn’t supply the assets Chicago was looking for. I sincerely doubt the Jazz were ever willing to give up their first-round pick for him, but even if they were, perhaps the other assets Utah would have had to package with it didn’t quite match up nicely with what the Bulls were seeking in a trade.

Whatever the case, the fact of the matter is that the hottest trade rumor relating to the Utah Jazz has been officially snuffed out. While a few other names from opposing teams have popped up here and there, there’s little substantial evidence pointing to who the Jazz may now be targeting. We know from former reports including a statement from Dennis Lindsey himself that the Jazz are interested in adding a stretch-four, but their options seem quite limited unless there’s something pretty well hidden in the works.

On the flip side, the Jazz have several players on their own roster that have been mentioned as potential trade pieces, but who Utah may net in return for any of those guys is now anybody’s guess. That means that the upcoming trade deadline is going to either be full of surprises or really bland for the Jazz.

My guess is that the former will be closer to the truth, but I honestly also expect the Jazz to be less active than we might have originally predicted. It seems there are a handful of moves that would certainly benefit them both this year and in the future, but as is always said at the trade deadline, it takes two to tango. And finding the right pairing may very well be the issue this time around, just as it likely was in trade talks involving Nikola Mirotic.

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So the Jazz roster will remain unchanged for now, but with just a week until the trade deadline, don’t be surprise if that isn’t the case by the next Jazz home game on February 9th.