Utah Jazz rumors: Trade target Jabari Parker a low-risk, high-reward pick-up

The Utah Jazz may be among the teams interested in Chicago Bulls forward Jabari Parker. He would be a low-risk, high-reward gamble on the trade market.

A highly sought-after (in the eyes of some fans, anyway) potential trade target could be on the Utah Jazz’s radar, per The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor. In his early primer for the upcoming trade season, O’Connor name-checked Chicago Bulls forward Jabari Parker as a player Utah has interest in.

Any move to acquire Parker would be a gamble — he is, after all, a deeply flawed player with a troubling injury history. If you ask me, though, trading for the former No. 2 overall pick would be a low-risk move with the potential for a big-time payout.

Here’s what O’Connor had to say re: Parker and the Jazz —

"The Utah Jazz are one of the teams interested in Parker, according to multiple league sources. Derrick Favors is an awkward fit next to center Rudy Gobert, and his $16.9 million on the books for next season is non-guaranteed, meaning he could be one of the pieces involved. …Parker’s value has diminished, but the Jazz are desperate for offense. They rank 23rd in offensive rating this season, and last in offensive rating in the fourth quarter. Parker doesn’t care about playing defense, but the rest of the team does; if they can help him get stops, maybe he can help them buy a bucket."

With Parker’s team holding the option on the $20 million he’s set to make next season, that bucket-getting potential comes with little downside. If the Jazz acquired him and he didn’t pan out, they could simply let Parker walk this summer with their cap space still intact to effort a better solution.

And, again, the possible reward here could be huge.

Even with his past injury problems, Parker remains a more mobile, versatile player than Favors will ever be offensively. Over the 10-game stretch directly preceding Fred Hoiberg‘s firing, Parker averaged 19.2 points, 8.5 boards and three dimes per contest with shooting splits of 47-35-70. During that time, Chicago was eight points/100 poss. better when he was on the court.

After beginning the season with an out-of-shape bod, he was seemingly rounding back into form for the Bulls in a big, bad way before Boylen became coach and took him out of the team’s rotation.

If that’s who he is right now — and Parker did put up similar numbers with the Milwaukee Bucks two years ago before getting hurt again) — he could definitely help the Jazz offensively.

Make no mistake about it, Utah’s scoring struggles are real. Adding Kyle Korver via trade last month has helped, but there’s still significant work to be done. That bottom-10 O-rating equates to scoring just 106.3 points per 100 possessions, a number that drops to 101.7 when Gobert and Favors are on the floor together.

Now, I don’t want to sound like Parker’s hype man here and talk about this like it’s some kind of no-brainer. In his piece, O’Connor called the former Duke star a defensive zero; I might stop a step or two short of that proclamation, but he’s far from good. Also — he’s gone on record essentially scoffing at the idea of defense as a concept in the NBA.

Clearly, that wouldn’t play well in Utah under coach Quin Snyder.

He’s also been a net negative on the court in terms of point differential during each and every one of his five years in the league. Since he left Milwaukee, the Bucks have suddenly become a power in the Eastern Conference with the same players (sans Parker) leading the charge.

If he can’t get his 3-point shot back up to snuff and remain consistent, Parker’s reliance on less efficient forms of scoring could be an issue, too.

It’s also worth noting that any deal between the Jazz and the Bulls centered around Favors and Parker couldn’t happen until the former’s trade restriction is lifted on January 15. Parker’s own restriction was lifted on the 15th, if you want to take another angle on a move to bring Parker to Utah.

In either case, I think it’s something worth exploring. The Jazz need points and Parker can get them. And per the Chicago Tribune’s K.C. Johnson, the Bulls are exploring every avenue in an attempt to solve their Parker conundrum.