The near-certain and likely to stay
Let’s kick it off with the players that aren’t going anywhere. Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert are Utah’s core pair and there’s virtually no chance whatsoever that either is moved this offseason. Both are under contract for the next few years and have expressed nothing but love for staying in Utah.
Even if the Jazz were to receive some mind-blowing trade offer for either one (which I don’t foresee in the slightest), they’d be hard-pressed to make a move considering Mitchell and Gobert have both become so ingrained in the community and identity of the team. Both are as far from on the trade block as you could be. Don’t expect either one to have even the slightest chance of being dealt.
From there, the other players that remain on fully guaranteed contracts for next season are Joe Ingles, Dante Exum, Jae Crowder, Grayson Allen, Tony Bradley and Royce O’Neale. Though Ingles and Crowder may be among two of Utah’s most enticing trade pieces, I’d be surprised to see either of them dealt as they’ve become characteristic pieces of Utah’s gritty culture and mindset. Not only that, but both are on relatively favorable contracts moving forward.
O’Neale would be highly valuable to several teams across the league, but at his minuscule salary (he’s making less than Niang, Bradley, Allen and Raul Neto), not only would the Jazz be foolish to let him go with his high value, but he wouldn’t do much to make salaries line up in a potential deal. I suppose if a team really wanted him, they could make a push for O’Neale and the Jazz could bite, but I have a sense that they hold him in pretty high regard.
In other words, expect Ingles, Crowder and O’Neale to remain with the Jazz next season, though I’d say of those three, Crowder would be the most likely to be traded, followed by Ingles than O’Neale. Though that still seems unlikely.
Dante Exum is an interesting case. He was apparently coveted at the trade deadline including in a potential deal for Mike Conley, but the Utah Jazz didn’t bite. Now that Exum has suffered yet another injury, his trade value has likely dipped yet again. Not only that, but the overwhelming sentiment from those close to the Jazz is that the organization is still high on Dante and believes he can be one of Utah’s critical missing pieces for ascending the West ranks.
The jazz aren’t looking to trade exum. He’s a guy who the jazz really need. https://t.co/pZnjoREMbH
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) May 2, 2019
With that said, I’d pretty much say plan on Exum remaining a Jazzman in 2019-20.
With Allen and Bradley, things become a little less clear. While both are under contract, I could see Allen being an easy trade inclusion if the Jazz needed to match salaries and/or throw in some young and athletic talent. You could argue the same for Bradley, though with his underwhelming play up to this point, it wouldn’t be shocking if Utah opted to waive him and move on to free up a roster spot.
Time will tell what comes of each of these players under contract, but if I had to order the guys outside of Mitchell and Gobert in order of most likely to remain with the Jazz next season to least likely, here’s how I would order it:
- Royce O’Neale
- Joe Ingles
- Dante Exum
- Jae Crowder
- Grayson Allen
- Tony Bradley
With that said about the guys under contract, let’s now transition and look at free agent and non-guaranteed contract types whose futures are even more uncertain.