Reacting to three huge Utah Jazz mock trades
By Nathan Smith
At this point, the Utah Jazz could go into a full-on rebuild at any moment by trading Donovan Mitchell, and after the Rudy Gobert deal, it would make sense if they pivoted to collecting as many first round draft picks as possible. If that is indeed the goal, then beyond Mitchell, Utah have several players of potential value like Jordan Clarkson, Patrick Beverley, Bojan Bogdanovic and Mike Conley.
Until the Jazz finally make a move, or decide they’ll retool around Mitchell, the speculation isn’t likely to stop, because right now, Utah is in a very unique spot, and their future plans could potentially change the landscape of the NBA.
If one move is made, the floodgates could burst open, and in their latest piece, it seems like that is exactly what Bleacher Report has in mind, as they explored big time trades that could still happen this off-season, with the Jazz being featured in three of them.
Trade 1
The first trade involves Utah unloading the salary of veteran Mike Conley, with a focus on getting back another first round pick, as well as adding a high upside player still on his rookie contract.
If the Jazz are focused on the future, this one delivers them yet another first round pick to add to their already impressive war chest. Along with that, they can add young shooting guard Josh Green, who, at only 21-years of age, still has plenty of growing and potential.
Bertans isn’t quite as much of a positive for the future, but with a team option on the third year of his deal, the Jazz would actually be able to save money by unloading Mike Conley’s contract. This trade works out for both teams, as it lets Utah add to their future, while giving Dallas another talented, ball-handling guard, something they severely lack beyond Luka Doncic and Spencer Dinwiddie.
Trade 2
This is the big one here, and despite the Knicks being the overwhelming favourite to land Spida, Bleacher Report see No. 45 being sent north of the border.
Unless Kevin Durant gets moved before the 2022 season, this would be by far the biggest trade of the off-season, sending superstar Donovan Mitchell to Toronto for three decent players, along with three first-round draft picks. However, given Danny Ainge’s reluctance to budge off the price for the Knicks, it’s highly unlikely that he will settle for just three picks from a team that would immediately become a contender.
This is more of a realistic return for an All-Star like Mitchell, but after what the Jazz got for Rudy Gobert (and what they’ve turned down already for Spida), there’s just no way a deal like this will get it done.
Trade 3
This one is certainly much more out there than the others, and given all of the moving parts, it would be one of the most packed trades in recent NBA history.
There are a lot of moving parts in this deal, and while Utah and Los Angeles are getting decent deals, the trade just doesn’t seem as worth it for the Brooklyn Nets.
On Utah’s side of things, this would up their first round pick haul to 10 for the summer (if all three of these deals happened), on top of getting two very promising young players. Three team deals like this don’t often come about, but if the Nets are intent on moving. both KD and Kyrie, the Jazz would be smart to swoop in and steal some young talent, plus two more first round picks.
Ultimately, these are just hypothetical trades, but if the Jazz do want to go into a full on rebuild, these could eventually come true, as two out of the three deals seem fair for both teams, and allows Utah to stock the war chest ahead of their rebuild.
So what do you think? Could Utah get more for these players? Is there anyone else on the roster you think is worthy of being traded? Should Utah build around Donovan Mitchell and not move him? As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments below.