NBA Draft 2018: Could the Utah Jazz make a trade on draft day?

There will be no shortage of intriguing trade opportunities for the Utah Jazz  to consider during the 2018 NBA Draft this Thursday.

We’ve spent weeks upon weeks analyzing several of the top prospects that could be available when the Utah Jazz select at No. 21 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft. In many ways, it’s been a lengthy and painstaking process due to the depth of this year’s draft and the number of promising prospects that will be around in the late first round.

And guess what? Due to the nature of the draft, there’s a chance that all that specific research, speculation and guesswork could be for naught. When all is said and done, just like what occurred last season, the Utah Jazz could very well trade their first-round pick to move up or down in the draft and/or to acquire some other team’s player.

Considering all the thought that has gone into evaluating who Utah could pick at No. 21, such an event would in some ways be a bit of a letdown. But at the same time, it could also be extremely exciting.

There is a lot of buzz leading into this year’s draft that there could be some pretty significant shakeup as teams look to either take the next step to catch the dominant Golden State Warriors, shed painful salaries off their books or blow it all up and start from scratch. An example of the latter may very well be in progress as it was announced early on Wednesday that the Charlotte Hornets have traded Dwight Howard to the Brooklyn Nets for Timofey Mozgov.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Hornets were “determined to move out Howard” along with his $23.8 million expiring contract. However, in terms of both talent and salary, this would appear to be a bit of an odd move. Mozgov is owed less in 2018-19 ($16 million), but has another year left on his contract. His deal has long been criticized as one of the worst currently in the NBA.

The move does give Charlotte a trade exception which could be useful down the road, but more than that, it’s likely that this deal is a signal of larger things to come. Charlotte could very well be looking to blow it up this summer.

There has already been a lot of speculation of them doing as much, with several rumors and reports that they could aim to move Kemba Walker, or attach an unfavorable contract to their No. 11 pick. If such were the case, Utah could look to swing for the fences and go after Walker, or perhaps take on the contract of a guy like Marvin Williams to then also secure the No. 11 pick.

Williams could be a stretch-four Favors replacement, but considering he still has two years left on his contract, I would hope the Jazz wouldn’t do this unless they were absolutely blown away by a prospect that they could nab at No. 11. Swinging for Kemba Walker is a nice thought, but I doubt the Jazz have enough to offer Charlotte to get them to part with their All-Star.

Speaking of Walker, though, he has been linked to being a potential trade target for the Cleveland Cavaliers. In an attempt to woo LeBron James to stay put, moving their 8th overall pick for Kemba could be a win-win for both sides, providing Cleveland with an All-Star point guard and Charlotte with another promising young asset for a potential rebuild.

Both teams have unfavorable contracts that they also need to shed though, so sorting that out would be important as well and could lead to either or both of them pursuing further trades. The Cavs could very well be active and, as we saw this past season, are familiar with doing business with the Utah Jazz.

Some Jazz fans have liked the idea of trading for Cleveland’s Kevin Love who they may be willing to part with if they feel someone else better convinces James to stay, or if they feel like hitting reset in the event of a LeBron departure. There has been ample speculation that Cleveland could very well trade their lottery pick, so they’re certainly a team to keep an eye on this Thursday.

The LA Clippers, who are selecting 12th and 13th, and the Denver Nuggets, who are selecting 14th, have both also been rumored to be interested in moving their picks. The Clippers reportedly want to move up, while the Nuggets are more concerned about shedding the cumbersome salary of Kenneth Faried. Depending on if a Donovan Mitchell-esque situation arose in which the Jazz really liked a player that fell to that range, this could be an interesting one to keep an eye on.

Denver has been open to dealing to Utah on draft day in the past (and in both most recent occasions got burned), so it’s not implausible to suppose that if the right situation arose for both teams, it could happen again. LA likely won’t want much that the Jazz have to offer, but if they’re willing to deal, it’s worth pursuing, especially since they have two consecutive picks and may hope to use one to acquire more of a sure thing.

The Philadelphia 76ers have six picks in this year’s draft and therefore could very well be open to dealing. There’s been speculation that maybe the Jazz could trade with the Sixers to move back in the draft to pick slightly lower in the first round but much higher in the second round, potentially allowing them to nab two players of interest. I don’t see this being the best idea, but it’s certainly an intriguing possibility.

Another interesting trade prospect is the Washington Wizards, who are reportedly open to dealing their 15th overall pick if they can attach an expiring contract to it. The most intriguing such option for the Jazz here would be Markieff Morris, who has just one year remaining on his contract for $8.6 million.

He would effectively take Favors’ place, but then be off the books for 2019 allowing Utah to move on from him, while also having the enormous opportunity to move up to No. 15 in the draft and potentially land an exciting prospect. Of all the ideas presented thus far, this is the one that I feel is most realistic, however, I think it’s also more likely that Washington would want to move Marcin Gortat‘s $13.5 million contract instead of Morris’, and at that point, it no longer becomes worth it for the Jazz.

The problem with any of these trade options is one of two things. Either the Jazz would have to take on a bad contract, such as Morris from the Wizards or Faried from the Nuggets, or Utah likely won’t have the appropriate assets to send back to a team.

If there’s a player the Jazz really want at 14 or 15 in the draft, then dealing with one year of Morris or Faried might be worth it, assuming their No. 21 pick was enough to get either team to move. But it also would force Utah to part ways with Derrick Favors and would limit other opportunities this summer. If that prospect is good enough, though, and the Jazz are focused on 2019, then it’s probably still worth it.

In terms of the other opportunities, while the Jazz have some valuable trade pieces in the form of expiring contracts, they don’t have much in terms of players they would realistically deal that are likely to move the needle. If pursuing something like the Clippers’ 12th or 13th pick or the Hornets’ 11th pick, it’s going to take more than a guy like Alec Burks, Thabo Sefolosha or Jonas Jerebko to get a deal done.

Burks may have elevated his trade value somewhat during this past postseason, but teams still aren’t going to be willing to give up valuable assets for him.

In short, there will be no shortage of opportunities for trades on Thursday’s draft day, but as is the case with any deal, each one would be accompanied with obstacles. In order for the Jazz to pull the trigger, they’ll have to weigh and measure whether the risks outweigh the rewards as well as see if they have the right trade pieces to convince opposing teams to budge.

Of course, beyond these reported opportunities, there’s certainly plenty going on behind the scenes as well. No one foresaw the Jazz trading with Denver for Donovan Mitchell last year, so it’s entirely possible that a trade could occur that isn’t even on the radar right now.

It’s really anybody’s guess whether or not the Jazz will make a trade, but I certainly think there’s a high possibility. They have some assets to make such a move and may even be willing to take on an unfavorable contract if need be. Dennis Lindsey has historically been pretty active on draft day and has shown a willingness to deal if the right opportunity arises.

Next: Utah Jazz 2018 NBA Draft Profile: Chandler Hutchison

However, I also wouldn’t be surprised if instead Utah stood pat and simply picked at No. 21. They’ve spent ample time researching prospects and it’s entirely possible that the guy they want will just be available and they’ll get precisely who they’re looking for.

Either way, Thursday’s NBA Draft is bound to be absolutely intriguing as one way or another, be it solely through drafting or via trade, the Jazz will be adding new exciting players to their ranks.