The Utah Jazz are one of the best teams in the National Basketball Association. Having said that, they may be a savvy trade away from removing the “one of” qualifier from that sentence.
They also probably didn’t bring Danny Ainge on board to rest on his laurels. He’s got a reputation around the league for wheeling and dealing. In all likelihood, he’ll want to put his stamp on this Jazz club.
Not that they should be making any trades for the sake of making them. The Utah Jazz are 27-10. They’ve got the best Offensive Rating (118.48) in the league, the fifth-best Defensive Rating (108.35) and most significantly, the best Net Rating (10.13). They don’t have to do anything at all.
Still, the notion that they should add a defensive-minded wing remains fashionable. It may even be true. Joe Ingles is a willing defender, but at 34 (and never the most impressive athlete in the league) he’s not always the most able. His Defensive Box Plus/Minus (DBPM) is trending downward, from 0.9 last season to 0.5 in 2021-22.
That’s only a marginal decline, but sometimes the margins are significant. None of which is to say the Jazz should trade Jingles. Spoiler alert: he’s not involved in any of these hypothetical deals.
He’s woven into the fabric of these Utah Jazz. Plus, from a more functional point of view, his spacing is integral to Quin Snyder’s system. The Jazz shoot too many threes to part with one of the best snipers in the NBA.
True, Ingles’ accuracy has waned this year. He’s canning 37.6% of his 7.1 threes per game, down from 45.1% on his 7.8 attempts in 2020-21.
No matter. That’s still a solid combination of accuracy and volume, and Ingles is likely to trend upward as the season progresses. Anyway, the threat of his long ball opens up too much space in Snyder’s three-point dependent system. The main focus of this exercise is to improve the Jazz’s defense while compromising their spacing as little as possible.
Here are three trades that do exactly that.
Utah Jazz acquire forward Torrey Craig
All signs point to an at least partial tear down in Indiana. At 14-23, they’re currently a disappointing 13th in the Eastern Conference. Between Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, Malcolm Brogdon and Caris LeVert, there’s talent in Indiana. Unfortunately, between health and fit concerns, it isn’t amounting to much.
The Utah Jazz may be able to capitalize on their discontent. Granted, there are questions about whether Indiana will be open to a full scale rebuild. As a small market club, they’ve generally resisted that path. If they finally choose to venture down it, this swap could make sense for both sides.
Torrey Craig typifies the 3-and-D role, albeit not in 2021-22. His -0.1 DBPM is uninspiring, and his 27.5% accuracy on 2.1 three-point attempts per game is something worse. We’re willing to chalk his underwhelming performance up to his situation. We’re also willing to bet that last season’s marks of 36.8% three-point accuracy and a 0.4 DBPM are more reflective of his actual abilities.
Meanwhile, the Jazz wouldn’t lean on Craig as their primary 3-and-D option. Royce O’Neale is a remarkably similar and unequivocally better player. Craig would effectively be an insurance policy. He’d also diversify Snyder’s rotation, allowing him to field two defensive minded wings where matchups require it. That’s good value at the cost of two players who aren’t in the rotation of a win-now ball club like the Jazz anyway.
As for the Pacers, they get to roll the dice on two fairly intriguing young players for the price of a veteran they have little use for. Craig is an ill fit for a lottery team, and Azubuike and Hughes aren’t seeing minutes on a contender.
This trade finds a better home for all of the parties involved in it.
Utah Jazz acquire guard Eric Gordon
Remember when we said we aimed to improve the Jazz’s defense without compromising their spacing? We may be stretching the truth a little with this one.
Eric Gordon’s career DBPM of -1.4 barely edges out Clarkson’s -1.5, and Clarkson is actually faring better in that statistic in 2021-22. Still, it intuitively feels like Gordon is a better defender. At 215 pounds, he is certainly more stout than the 197 pound Clarkson. It’s likely that Gordon’s 2021-22 DBPM of -2.5 is mostly a result of his being employed by the Houston Rockets. With a 116.6 Defensive Rating, they are the second worst defensive team in the NBA.
Nonetheless, the Jazz wouldn’t be acquiring Gordon for his defense.
Eric Gordon is hitting 45.2% of his three-point attempts this season. Jordan Clarkson is hitting a meager 31.1% of his. There is no overstating how significant that difference is. Furthermore, Gordon provides much of the same shot creation that Clarkson does. He’s not as deft a ball handler, nor does he have as deep a bag of layups. If aesthetics are your concern, this trade isn’t for you. If on-court impact is, keep reading.
Gordon creates baskets for himself as a power guard, barreling into the lane with his aforementioned thick frame to create easy layup or dunk attempts. He may not be quite the creator that Clarkson is, but his vastly superior three-point shooting would more than make up that menial difference.
Gordon spent years spacing the floor alongside James Harden in Mike D’Antoni’s pick-and-spread system. That experience would translate perfectly on the Utah Jazz. It may be painful to part with Clarkson one year after his Sixth Man of the Year campaign, but acquiring Eric Gordon would be worth the trouble.
As for the Rockets, they’d likely look to reroute Clarkson to a contender in the offseason. They’d have little use for his services. However, as a rebuilding club, they’re in a perfect position to take a flier on Azubuike. That’s the draw for them in this deal.
Utah Jazz acquire forward Kyle Anderson
We can see the comments on this article before you make them. “Why are you so desperate to trade Clarkson? You must be a Bulls fan”.
Fret if you must. The Utah Jazz shoot the most three-pointers in the league. Jordan Clarkson is hitting 31.1% of his three-point attempts. The Jazz could also use another defensive wing. This trade nets them one while improving their spacing. They’d have to consider it.
Plus, Kyle Anderson is criminally underrated. His numbers are down across the board from 2020-21, because his minutes are down. The Grizzlies appear to be heading in another direction. A look at his per 36 minutes is more instructive: Anderson is averaging 13 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists on that measure.
He does a little bit of everything, and should fit snugly into Quin Snyder’s attack. He’s hitting 35.3% of his 3.3 three-point attempts per game this year. That’s not an elite mark, but it’s an improvement on Clarkson’s. It’s also a solid percentage for a player who figures to spend most of his minutes at the 4. More relevantly, his 1.0 DBPM is reflective of a well-rounded, fundamentally sound defensive wing.
As for the Bulls, they’ve received dissatisfactory play from Coby White this season (when he’s even been available). They’d probably be happy to swap him for a veteran like Clarkson. He’s also young enough to intrigue a Grizzlies squad in the throes of a youth movement.
The Utah Jazz may opt against all of these moves. Again, at 27-10, they may opt against any moves at all. Nonetheless, each of these would at least be worth some consideration.