The Utah Jazz are on the verge of a rebuild after yet another disappointing playoff finish in 2022, and while Donovan Mitchell hasn’t yet joined Rudy Gobert by being traded away, it’s only a matter of time. He’s not the only Jazz player drawing interest from rival teams however, as a number of Utah players, such as Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic could find themselves shipped out of Salt Lake City in the coming weeks and months.
One of those is newly acquired power forward, Jarred Vanderbilt, who is coming off of a career year in 2021/22, where he averaged a career high in minutes (25.4), points (6.9), rebounds (8.4), assists (1.3) and steals (1.3), and Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer is reporting that plenty of rival teams are interested in his services. No teams are named, but given the need for depth around the league, as well as Vanderbilt’s defensive abilities, it makes sense that plenty of playoff teams would give up a future draft pick or two to bring Vanderbilt off the bench.
If Danny Ainge does indeed embrace the rebuild like many expect, then it’s likely that every player received in the Rudy Gobert trade, except for 2022 first round pick Walker Kessler are going to be traded away, and while they may not net a huge draft haul, at this point, any future draft capital helps Ainge and the Jazz. It’s tough to predict which teams are interested in Vanderbilt, as he could fit as a backup forward on almost any playoff team in the league, and he will give them valuable playing time, but at this point, any draft capital and shed salary will help Ainge going forward.
So what do you think? Would you like to see the 23-year old Vanderbilt on the Jazz going forward? What do you see his role as if that’s the case? Where do you think he would go if Utah moved him, and what do you think they could get in return? As always, let us know all your thoughts in the comments below!