Utah Jazz Trade Chip #2: Joe Ingles
We know what you’re thinking. No, this isn’t an elaborate way for us to write another piece advocating for a Jordan Clarkson trade. Well, not exactly.
The Utah Jazz do not look like bonafide NBA title contenders. They need to. This team is old and almost out of draft picks. They roster a superstar who may already have an eye toward the exit. There is a real need for change here.
It’s commonly believed that a 3-and-D wing could be the solution. It makes sense. The Jazz lean too heavily into Rudy Gobert’s rim protection on defense. They could use someone to make his life easier.
Royce O’Neale does that already. That’s why his name wasn’t considered here. Still, trading Joe Ingles for a 3-and-D wing doesn’t feel right either: he practically already is one.
Jingles is shooting 36.7% on 5.0 three-point attempts per contest this season. That’s not elite, and it’s the worst mark he’s posted since his 2014-15 rookie season. It’s still solid, and opposing defenders are still forced to scramble to cover his attempts. His three-point gravity remains the same.
Ingles’ reputation as a shooter is well-established, but he’s become an underrated defender. He’s 34, and he was never one of the league’s premier athletes to begin with. He can be beat off the dribble, which can affect widespread perception of his overall defensive value.
For the uninformed: he boasts a DBPM of 0.4 this season. That is a positive figure. Ingles is a heady defender who knows when to help, when to sag and when to smother. He can’t always get to his spot, but he always knows where his spot is, and he tries his hardest.
Trading Ingles for a better defender would be self-defeating. The Utah Jazz need another 3-and-D player. Trading one to acquire another won’t fix the problem. Meanwhile, if this team acquired a Torrey Craig, or David Nwaba, or whoever else, they could field an impenetrable defense alongside Ingles, O’Neale and Gobert’s rim protection.
All of which leaves us with one player to turn to.