Utah Jazz: Rodney Hood, Alec Burks drawing interest as deadline nears

A pair of Utah Jazz players – Rodney Hood and Alec Burks – reportedly continue to draw interest as the trade deadline quickly nears.

The trade deadline is nearly upon us and there’s been no shortage of Utah Jazz rumors and speculation filling the headlines. Yesterday, Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune filled us in with even more information about two Jazzmen who have already been brought up a number of times – Rodney Hood and Alec Burks.

The information that he provided wasn’t earth-shattering, but it was critical nonetheless as a potentially significant deadline nears. He reported that the Oklahoma City Thunder, Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons and to a lesser extent the Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets have expressed interest in Rodney Hood.

Especially after last night’s showing, that comes as little surprise. Rodney had one of those special nights in New Orleans where he simply couldn’t miss as he finished with 30 points on 12-of-14 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from deep. He showed just what an offensive weapon he can be if he’s able to stay healthy and find some consistency.

Of course, those two hopes are also the two major concerns teams likely have about him and may affect what the Jazz can get in return. Utah reportedly would like to get a first-round pick in exchange for Hood, but despite his occasional hot outings like last night, teams may be hesitant to part with such a valuable asset for a player that has had such drastic ups and downs.

Nevertheless, as I predicted yesterday morning, I believe that the Jazz are going to find a trade partner for Rodney Hood. He certainly has plenty of value yet his fit has been iffy with Utah of late, thus dealing him could very well make sense for both sides of a potential deal.

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What was perhaps even more surprising about the recent Salt Lake Tribune article is that Tony Jones mentioned that Alec Burks is also drawing some interest. Burks has been pretty erratic throughout his career, though he certainly possesses the athleticism and some skills that could help the right team. Teams are obviously hesitant to add his contract, which is a big reason why Utah would like to deal him, so I have a hard time believing the Jazz will ultimately find a fitting suitor for Burks.

The tricky situation for the Jazz right now is that despite an up and down season, the team is finally playing extremely well and is starting to click. With that being the case and as their playoff chances slowly start to increase, the front office might be hesitant about throwing off the team’s chemistry and cohesion with a major trade.

Nevertheless, regardless of what comes of this season, Jazz brass has to be well aware that the chances of achieving the ultimate goal – an NBA championship – are extremely slim. Thus, even if a move impacts their postseason chances this year, but helps propel them to a higher tier for future seasons, they’ll probably take advantage of the opportunity. Finding a fitting deal for the likes of Hood and/or Burks may accomplish just that.

Next: Utah Jazz: 25 years of the best (and worst) trade deadline deals

Between the announcement that Donovan Mitchell will participate in the Dunk Contest, to how well the Jazz have played of late, to the rapidly approaching trade deadline, this has already been an exhilarating week for the Jazz and it likely will only continue to become more so from here.

I, for one, can’t wait to see how different (or perhaps similar) the team may look once the deadline has come and gone.