In just a few weeks, the Utah Jazz have gone from a strong playoff team, to one that could be re-tooling around All-Star Donovan Mitchell, to one that is now likely to go into a complete rebuild in the coming weeks, and could potentially be armed with a haul of 10+ first-round picks, not including their own. The Jazz still need to field a complete roster in 2022/23, but given all of the exits and the clear strategy to stockpile as many draft picks as possible, there’s a very, very good chance that a Donovan Mitchell trade isn’t the last one we see from the Utah Jazz this off-season.
Not everyone on this team is going to be a Mitchell or Gobert and fetch a haul of picks, but we saw with the Brooklyn Nets trade for Royce O’Neale, that other players on this team carry value, and it’s now that the Jazz should be looking to capitalize. So which other players on the current Utah Jazz roster will be there when the season tips off in 2022/23, and which ones will be bought out or traded before that point in time?
7. Will Jarred Vanderbilt be in Utah for 2022/23?
Jarred Vanderbilt has been in the NBA for four seasons, and it was his fourth year, playing with the Timberwolves that saw him set career highs across the board, and even if he doesn’t project as a future star or even a starter, he could be quite a valuable piece to this Jazz team in the future. At just 23-years of age, Vanderbilt can certainly play a role for a good time, like he did in 2021/22 for Minnesota, but his future in Utah all depends on either what the team can get for him in a trade, or if he’ll be an effective piece for them once the rebuild is nearing completion.
Vanderbilt plays great defense, and is solid in every other area on the basketball court, but given the rumoured interest from rival teams about his services since his arrival in Utah, it’s safe to say that he likely won’t be around when the Jazz finally finish the rebuild that seems to be imminent.
All in all, Utah’s trade of Rudy Gobert was all about the picks they got in return, and while the players may be valuable, there’s no star among them, so whether Vanderbilt is moved for a late first/second round pick or if he plays for this squad, he’s not going to be too big of a deal. At this time, it’s more likely than not however that Jarred is flipped for some sort of a pick that Danny Ainge can try to hit on in the future, as this team just isn’t equipped to keep players like Vanderbilt with a low ceiling going forward through this rebuild.