How will blockbuster Kawhi and Melo trades affect the Utah Jazz?

Blockbuster moves from fellow Western Conference teams will only make life harder for the Utah Jazz in 2018-19.

Aside from the ESPY-winning Donovan Mitchell, the Utah Jazz haven’t made many headlines this summer. Amidst a chaotic offseason, the Jazz played things pretty conservative, merely re-signing their own free agents, Derrick Favors, Dante Exum and Raul Neto.

Still, that doesn’t mean they’ve been inactive or imprudent. Instead, they’ve been just the opposite, carefully making the best plan for their squad.

Nevertheless, there’s no denying that they didn’t have nearly as flashy of an offseason as some of their other counterparts across the league. LeBron James joined the Los Angeles Lakers, DeMarcus Cousins joined the already stacked Golden State Warriors and DeAndre Jordan joined the Dallas Mavericks, to name a few.

But the big-time moves didn’t end there as in the past couple days, a pair of blockbuster trades have gone down that could dramatically alter the landscape of the league. First, it was reported on Wednesday that Kawhi Leonard had been traded to the Toronto Raptors. He was joined by teammate Danny Green while All-Star DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a 2019 first-round pick were sent back to the San Antonio Spurs.

Then on Thursday, it was announced that the Oklahoma City Thunder had finally found a suitor for Carmelo Anthony, allowing them to part ways with him without using the stretch provision. Melo was sent to Atlanta along with a 2022 first-round pick and Philadelphia 76ers’ Justin Anderson. Meanwhile, the Thunder received Dennis Schroder from the Hawks and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot from the Sixers, and Philly received Mike Muscala.

The belief is that Anthony will be waived by the Hawks and then be free to join whichever team he pleases. Reportedly, the Houston Rockets are the frontrunners to sign him.

So what does this all mean for the Utah Jazz and the rest of the Western Conference? Well, that’s a bit of a tricky question to ask as there are nearly innumerable possibilities. But here are my initial reactions.

The Spurs are a big mystery. Some have been critical of San Antonio for what they received in return for Leonard, but the fact that they were able to get an All-Star (albeit one that has been criticized for his shot selection and buckling under pressure) in DeMar DeRozan is a big win.

Some have stated that exchanging Kawhi for DeRozan will lead to the Spurs falling out of the playoff mix, but those that think as much would do well to remember that they made the postseason last year even with Leonard appearing in just nine games. When looked at that way, essentially the Spurs team that made the playoffs last year just added DeRozan, it wasn’t actually much of an exchange.

Despite facing some of the biggest drama they’ve seen in decades, the Spurs and head coach Gregg Popovich simply can’t be counted out. While it’s a bit tricky to predict how DeRozan will fit in with the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Gay and Co., if anyone can figure out how to get the most out of such an elite scorer, it’s Coach Pop and the Spurs.

Still, I don’t see the Spurs moving into the upper half of such a deep Western Conference. They will definitely be competitive and may end up being even better than last year, but the DeRozan addition won’t vault them into the realm of title contenders. Still, they’ll continue to be a challenge and a team Utah will have to aim to overcome if they hope to be a top-4 seed in the West.

Meanwhile, the Melo trade was an absolute win for the Thunder. Merely using the stretch provision to set him loose would have made OKC better considering how poorly he fit last season. The fact that the Thunder were able to save money by trading him AND add a solid player like Dennis Schroder is a big win.

Honestly, I think Schroder is a little overrated and don’t think that he’ll move the needle for OKC all that much, especially since his fit alongside Russell Westbrook is questionable at best. However, just about anybody at this point would have been better than Carmelo Anthony, and unless Schroder causes major chemistry issues, he should be a nice upgrade for the Thunder.

OKC figures to be an exceptional team next year, likely finishing in the top four of the Western Conference. That would have probably been the case as long as they got rid of Anthony and regardless of if they added Schroder or not, but if head coach Billy Donovan can figure out the best way to incorporate him, he could be a nice addition.

In truth, the Jazz struggled against Schroder last season, which may give division rival OKC an extra punch against Utah. Those two teams are sure to have some exciting head-to-head bouts as they relive their 2018 NBA Playoff Series and fight with one another for positioning in the West. The Thunder are no doubt set to be a formidable opponent and, outside of the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets, will probably be Utah’s biggest obstacle for earning a top-3 spot.

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In short, these two moves accomplished one major thing – it made the West even stronger than last year (as hard as that is to fathom). Sure, Kawhi is a better player than DeRozan straight up, but a Spurs team with DeRozan is better than a Spurs team without him or Kawhi, which is the squad that San Antonio rolled out for 47 wins last year.

The Thunder also got better, not only by parting ways with Carmelo Anthony, but by adding yet another serviceable player in Dennis Schroder. The West was already as daunting as they come, yet it appears that these recent moves will make things even harder for the Utah Jazz in their pursuit of a return to postseason action.

Fortunately, despite any obstacles in their way, I imagine the Jazz will tackle them with a “bring it on” type of attitude. The West is as difficult as can be, but the Utah Jazz are just as poised to make life miserable for their opponents as their opponents are to make things challenging for them.