Utah Jazz report card: Who are Utah’s top performers at the 50-game mark?
By Tyler Thorpe
C -. . G/F. Utah Jazz. JOE JOHNSON
Overall GPA: 2.42 (C-plus)
Joe Johnson has seen his role increase since Thabo Sefolosha’s season-ending injury against the Charlotte Hornets.
Despite Johnson’s season-high 24.4 minutes per game in January, the veteran sharpshooter logged just two 10-plus point games over Utah’s last 10 outings. For a player that is a defensive liability, Johnson simply MUST be better offensively for the Jazz.
Out of all of Utah’s potential trade pieces, I think shipping Iso Joe to a championship contender for assets would be very wise.
Literally, as I wrote that last sentence this news broke…
Veteran scorer Joe Johnson is angling behind the scenes for a trade out of Utah, according to league sources. Will be interesting to see if he becomes a buyout candidate for contenders should no deal materialize before the Feb. 8 trade buzzer
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 1, 2018
While it may be hard for Utah to get anything in return for Johnson at this point, they need to at least explore their options.
Johnson didn’t come to Utah to be a member of a fringe playoff team and Utah should start giving his minutes to some younger pieces anyway. A move involving Johnson now seems imminent.