Nikola Mirotic
If there’s one player that’s been solidly on Utah’s radar over the past year it’s most likely been Nikola Mirotic of the New Orleans Pelicans. The Jazz were closely connected to him at last year’s trade deadline when he was a member of the Chicago Bulls, particularly with reports that Mirotic himself had made it clear that he’d enjoy playing for head coach Quin Snyder.
You can definitely see where there would be a nice fit. Mirotic can be a prolific 3-point shooter when he gets hot and that extra scoring and spacing could work wonders for a Jazz offense that often goes stagnant. He’s putting up a solid 16.7 points per game this season while converting on a respectable 36.8 percent from deep. I think Utah would love to see that percentage go up, and with the number of open threes that the Jazz offense generates, I really think it would.
My concern with Mirotic has been and always will be defense. There was a reason why last season after Derrick Favors survived the trade deadline, he made it a point to go at Mirotic when the Jazz and Pelicans faced off. And as a whole, Favors dominated, exposing Mirotic time and time again. In order to truly fit Utah’s system, he would need to get much more reliable on that end of the floor.
But the scoring punch and spacing he would provide are undeniable, arguably more so than any other player on this list. If the Pelicans are looking to blow things up in the wake of Anthony Davis wanting out, Mirotic could very well be a crafty pickup for the Jazz.
My biggest hesitancy besides the defense, though, would be the fact that he is also set to hit free agency this summer. If he’s really as open to playing in Utah as many believe and if the Jazz are that interested in him, they may be better served simply adding him as a free agent this summer rather than surrendering assets for him. I know that free agency is far from a sure thing, especially for small market Utah, but considering that adding Mirotic is somewhat of a risk anyway, holding tight could be in Utah’s best interest.
There’s no questioning that the Jazz are probing the league in search of a stretch-four, making it one of their top priorities. With so many tantalizing options out there, it will be an absolute thrill to see if any of these players, or other promising prospects, gets them to pull the trigger. With the trade deadline just over 24 hours away, it won’t be long until we know for sure.
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