Utah Jazz: Derrick Favors and Ricky Rubio survive the trade deadline, what now?

Derrick Favors and Ricky Rubio remained members of the Utah Jazz despite several trade rumors surrounding them. What does that mean for the team moving forward?

Another NBA trade deadline has come and gone for the Utah Jazz. And unlike what many expected, the anticipation and build-up leading up to the deadline were far more exciting than the deadline itself for Jazz fans. The reason being – Utah stood pat on trade day, keeping their entire roster intact and refraining to make any moves whatsoever.

As my J-Notes colleague Ryan Aston recently noted, this left some of the Jazz fan contingent fuming with frustration while others were thrilled at the news of keeping the band together. I can certainly understand the reactions from both sides. On one hand, I love this team and am excited to see their chemistry continue and to find out whether or not they can go on a run like they did to end last season.

On the other hand, though, I’m somewhat disappointed. Because no matter how you look at it, the Jazz simply didn’t get better at the deadline. Instead they stayed the same.

That doesn’t mean they can’t close the year better than they’ve started or get on a hot streak, but it does mean that their ceiling isn’t any higher than we believed it to be prior to the deadline. Perhaps not making a deal was the wisest choice and will instead set the Jazz up for big-time success down the road. Or perhaps it will be yet another continuation of a disappointing trend of mediocrity.

That’s an answer we don’t have now and likely won’t have for quite some time. But what we know for now is that the Jazz roster as we’ve known it – the same one Dennis Lindsey kept intact this past summer to preserve chemistry – is still in place. Derrick Favors and Ricky Rubio were the two main figures purportedly being mentioned in trade talks, but they both survived the deadline to remain in the Jazz ranks.

This is far from unfamiliar territory for Favors who has seemingly been on the trade block for the past several years. He’s learned to take the rumors in stride and simply not let them get to him. Many Jazz fans were nearly certain he’d get traded last year and some felt the same way this time around, yet here he is. I, for one, am extremely happy to see Favs still with the Jazz. He’s long been a consummate pro and I still find him to be more important to the team than he gets credit for.

Ricky Rubio seemed a bit more uptight about the potential of being traded away from a team and situation that he obviously loves. He looked visibly distraught in some of the post-game interviews leading up to the deadline, and on deadline day itself, he posted several tweets indicating his nervousness and apprehensive attitude towards being dealt.

When all was said and done, he followed those tweets up with one of a celebratory GIF.

Quite frankly, I love to see Rubio so happy in Utah and am glad that he enjoys playing for this team and being a part of the Salt Lake City community and its squad. However, I’d also be lying if I told you I didn’t hope the Jazz would find an upgrade for him. Rubio does a lot of things really well, but his streaky play, inconsistent shooting and frequent questionable decision making have been irksome traits this season.

He turned it up following the All-Star break a season ago, and hopes are high that he’ll be able to do so again this year. Nevertheless, it remains frustrating that he’s yet again been unable to string together anything resembling a complete consistent season.

So with Favors and Rubio still on the roster and the trade deadline long gone, the question that lingers is, what’s next for the Utah Jazz? Well, there are several answers to that inquiry, so let’s break down a few aspects leading up to this offseason.

First, the only way the Jazz could now have a roster change is if they decided to peruse the buyout market. Could a guy like Wayne Ellington who’s a career 38 percent shooter from deep catch their eye? Or perhaps an athlete like Ben McLemore, who’s unfortunately under-achieved but could still have some juice left in the tank? I suppose it’s possible, but probably far from likely that the Jazz go that route. Even if they did, it wouldn’t be pushing the needle all that much.

So let’s assume the most probable outcome of this roster staying exactly the same. Where will that put them come regular season’s end? Well, the good news is that the Jazz’s schedule will be much lighter for the rest of the year. In fact, of their last 16 games, only four come against current playoff teams, and one of those is the LA Clippers who are likely on their way out of that group and two others are the Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Hornets, who are among the weaker of the playoff bunch.

https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/1093984082961166336

Realistically, the Jazz are probably a lock for the playoffs if they can get to at least 48 wins (and that’s being conservative), meaning they’d have to go just 17-10 the rest of the way. Winning those 12 “easy” games I just mentioned would pretty much put them home.

And while this Jazz team without any changes to the roster hasn’t been lighting the world on fire, I think we can all agree that they’ve remained solid and competitive. With all trade deadline worries in the rear view mirror, we could very well even see them rise to another level entirely. So despite the unexciting trade deadline, I’d say a playoff berth is still very much in store.

From there? It’s anyone’s guess. Depending on matchup and seeding, the Jazz may very well make a third straight trip to the second round or they could be a first-round bounce out. If Utah had been able to add Mike Conley, the guy they were the most closely connected with in various trade rumors, their odds of making the second round would have likely increased. But would they have had realistic championship odds? Probably not even then, just as they don’t now.

And perhaps that’s largely what Dennis Lindsey and the rest of Jazz brass had in mind when they stood pat at the deadline. If the team wouldn’t have been a championship contender anyway, perhaps it was better to hold out until summer, test free agency and peruse future trades, before giving up assets prematurely at the deadline for a unrealistic championship push.

Because a lot could happen this summer. Presumably the Anthony Davis saga will come to an end. Kawhi Leonard has a big decision to make. The New York Knicks and LA Clippers will be looking to add stars with their abundant cap space. Player movement and league-wide changes could very well change Utah’s approach and strategy in a big way.

So while the deadline was largely disappointing, maybe that’s OK. We all had a relatively good idea how this season was going to end anyway, and playing it safe so that the best realignment can be made when free agency madness breaks out could be the best bet.

What might be trickiest is that the aforementioned Ricky Rubio and Derrick Favors (due to his team option) will yet again be free agents this summer. Will the Jazz yet again go the chemistry and cohesion route and keep those guys on the roster? Or will straight-up improvement finally be the goal?

Because therein lies the risk of not making a trade when the opportunity was potentially there. Two days ago, a guy like Rubio had value. At the end of the season as a free agent, he could opt to go elsewhere or the Jazz could choose to part ways with him, and instead of him bringing in a much-needed additional player, he could have simply been frittered away.

So as far as ‘what’s next?’, the answer is anything but clear. The Jazz will likely be ‘fine’ this year, for lack of a better term, but probably little more than that. It’s hard to see this roster as currently constructed going any further than the second round, if even that.

Then once summer and free agency hits, it’s impossible to say what will transpire next. One thing is nearly certain, though. By the end of free agency this summer, I believe we’ll have a good idea of whether playing it safe at the deadline and standing pat was the best plan of action or not, depending on who the Jazz are able to land or ultimately deal for.

Let’s hope that the decisions of this past week don’t come back to haunt the Jazz in a few months’ time.