The Utah Jazz moved one of the best players in franchise history earlier this week, sending Rudy Gobert to Minnesota for role players and four first-round picks. With these picks, the Jazz could flip some players at the trade deadline for more draft capital and look towards a rebuild, or they could use the picks to obtain a win-now player.
With a backcourt of Patrick Beverly, Donovan Mitchell, and Jordan Clarkson, the Jazz need to beef up their frontcourt if they want to compete in a loaded western conference. With Gobert out, they have some options to experiment with at center. Walker Kessler and Udoka Azubuike come to mind, but they are not tried and true NBA players. For a more instant impact, Utah will have to shop around a bit. Luckily, they have the assets to do so.
The Jazz take a Hit but get a Starting Center
At the cost of some salary space and a single first-round pick, the Utah Jazz could add the league’s second-best version of Rudy Gobert. Jakob Poeltl of San Antonio is not quite the defender Gobert is, but he plays a similar game.
Yes, Utah would have to give up Bojan Bogdanovic and Rudy Gay, but their return would be Doug McDermott and Tre Jones. McDermott and Bogdanovic are near clones of each other, but San Antonio is trying to clear cap space for next season. McDermott is under contract for two seasons, and Bogdanovic for only one, so the Spurs get what they want here.
To compensate for picking up McDermott’s contract, the Jazz get defensive stud, Tre Jones. Jones is one of the best pure defensive point guards in the league, but people are unfamiliar with him because he played behind Dejounte Murray. Jones is not a scorer, but an excellent ball-handler who does not turn the rock over.
Jones and Clarkson would pair together greatly as the second unit after Beverly and Mitchell. Two similar units, opposing offenses and defenses would never get a break.
The real hit to Utah is the loss of a 2023 first-round pick. Luckily, the Jazz own their own, Brooklyn’s, and Minnesota’s, so dropping one shouldn’t hurt the team too much. Considering the trajectory all three teams are on, there is no chance any pick ends up in the lottery, so just to simplify things I’ll say Utah sends San Antonio the Timberwolves’ pick.
The end result of this trade? A solid center to pair with All-Star Donovan Mitchell, a sharpshooting forward on a slightly worse contract than Bogdanovic, and a great backup point guard, effectively for a washed vet and a late first-round pick. I say it’s a clear win, and the Spurs are in the right situation to pull the trigger.