The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz trade deadline 2019: Five potential power forward targets

By Jared Woodcox

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 10: Otto Porter Jr. #22 of the Washington Wizards passes the ball around Ekpe Udoh #33 of the Utah Jazz in the first half at Capital One Arena on January 10, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 10: Otto Porter Jr. #22 of the Washington Wizards passes the ball around Ekpe Udoh #33 of the Utah Jazz in the first half at Capital One Arena on January 10, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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Jabari Parker Utah Jazz Chicago Bulls Trade Deadline
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 29: Jabari Parker #2 of the Chicago Bulls wipes the sweat off during a timeout in the game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on January 29, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

Jabari Parker

Now for a polarizing option! There’s a lot of Jazz fans that remain high on Jabari Parker, whilst others despise the notion of adding him to Utah’s ranks. I’ll be honest, I lean more towards the latter, however, there are a few reasons why adding Parker to the Jazz roster could be promising. Allow me to explain.

Yes, we all know Parker’s shortcomings far too well. He’s been riddled with injuries since entering the league. He’s been extremely streaky on offense. He’s vocally denounced playing defense of any sort. And, last but not least, he’s on a pretty heft contract for such a questionable player.

Nevertheless, he also has some positives. He can certainly score in bunches as we’ve seen him do for stretches throughout his career. He definitely has the potential to be an ideal stretch-four fit for the Jazz considering that he has range and he can create his own shot. If he were to adjust his attitude and find a groove in SLC, he could still become the dangerous player that once earned him the second overall selection in the draft.

Not only that, but he’s very much available. He’s largely fallen out of the grace of Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen as he’s been in and out of the rotation, so the Bulls seem very much open to dealing him. There were even rumors that the Bulls were seeking out Ricky Rubio to insert some veteran guard presence into their roster.

With such being the case, the Jazz could very well be in a position to take a risk and get him on the cheap and, guess what? The good news about Jabari’s contract is that there is a team option for next season. In other words, if the Jazz were able to get him cheap for the end of the year, they could experiment with his fit to close out the season.

If he revolutionizes the team, then they can exercise the option and keep him another year. Or, if they need to free up his space for a big free agent move, he won’t handcuff them. Furthermore, if the Jazz strike out in free agency completely, at least they’ll have the option of one more year of Jabari as a fallback plan.

I’m not anywhere close to convinced that Jabari Parker can turn his game around and be a key piece for the Jazz if they were to trade for him. However, the fact that he could be such a low-risk option due to the team option on his contract makes him a little bit more appealing to me. If the Jazz can get him cheap from a Bulls team that’s ready to move on from him, he could be a high reward prospect.