In spite of an uneven 2021-22 NBA season thus far, the Utah Jazz are undeniably NBA championship contenders. Bleacher Report evidently knows this, and so they included the Jazzmen in a recent article proposing a trade idea for every NBA contender accordingly. Often times, fans of NBA teams bulk at hypothetical trades. It’s understandable enough. If a fan isn’t attached to the players on their team, are they really a fan?
At the same time, here’s a reality check: in the NBA, trades happen. In fact, they happen frequently. On a related note, Bleacher Report might just have cooked up a decent one for the Utah Jazz:
Utah Jazz add guard depth
This Bleacher Report trade suggestion finds the Jazz swapping hyper-athletic but raw big man Udoka Azubuike for a promising young point guard in Tre Jones. It’s not the flashiest trade you’ll see on the internet (or even in this Bleacher Report article), but it does hold the potential to benefit both sides involved. We certainly like it for the Utah Jazz.
In case you’ve missed it, we pretty strongly feel like the Jazz could use another guard. While Jones is young and inexperienced, a dive into his statistical profile suggests that he might be ready to contribute more immediately than Azubuike.
In his NBA career so far, Jones is averaging 7.4 assists per 100 possessions, and only 2.1 turnovers. That’s an excellent ratio. It also makes Jones a great protege for Mike Conley. Jones has also shown the potential to space the floor: he’s only 3 for 8 so far in his young NBA career, but he shot 46.1% on 3.7 attempts per game in his sophomore season at Duke.
If there’s any reason to decline this trade, it’s the presence of promising Utah Jazz rookie Jared Butler. Hopefully, adding a sophomore point guard to the roster wouldn’t damper his confidence. At the same time, Jones’ extra year of NBA experience may position him to make a more immediate contribution to a contending Utah Jazz team.
At the cost of a player who is quite apparently not going to find time in Quin Snyder’s rotation this season, it should be worth finding out.
Grade: A-