While the Utah Jazz have a ton of flexibility to acquire talent this offseason, there are still a few names that may be on the market the team must avoid.
The Jazz enter the offseason with a ton of opportunity. Not only do the Jazz possess a multitude of future firsts down the road, but the team also has a ton of money freed up for next season. A combination of these assets could make way for Utah to make a splash.
The team could have the chance to pounce on some big names this offseason, but there are some players if made available that the Jazz should make sure to stay clear of. Whether it be for cap purposes, a bad fit, or just not being worth what would be required to trade for them are just a few reasons why these players shouldn’t be on Utah’s radar.
Here are 3 players that could be on the trade block this offseason that the Jazz should have no business looking into:
1. The Utah Jazz should not trade for Pelicans’ Zion Williamson.
Due to Zion’s consistent injury concerns with the Pelicans, fans have begun to speculate whether or not the Pelicans would be better off trading the former first-round pick. However, regardless of how a trade would look for New Orleans, the Jazz need to steer clear.
While Zion would be one of the most exciting stars we’ve ever seen in Utah, Williamson’s lack of availability in recent years merits no reason to trade for him. The asset pool that would be required to trade for a young talent like him would be immense. If a team is willing to give up that kind of package for one player, he needs to be expected to be on the court as much as possible.
Ever since he entered the league, it seems as if Zion is always sitting out when it matters most. Despite consistently averaging stellar numbers since entering the league (25.6 points, 7 rebounds, and 4.6 assists), Zion has only played 114 of a total of 298 games.
Before even discussing a trade for Zion Williamson, he needs to prove that he can play at least over 60 games in a season.
2. The Utah Jazz should not think about trading for Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young.
The Jazz could probably use some more talent at guard going into next season, but those plans shouldn’t even consider dealing for Trae Young.
Recent reports have suggested that the Hawks could have the opportunity to trade away the four-year star point guard this offseason. Trae’s averages this season of 26.2 points, 10.2 assists, and 1.1 steals might not be enough to keep him in Atlanta, we could see the Hawks opt to go another direction for the sake of the team’s future.
Trae Young responded to the rumors that the Hawks' front office has the green light to consider trading him. pic.twitter.com/QMXVDGxvzA
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 11, 2023
Even with a talent like Trae potentially on the trading block, the Jazz should stay away from these discussions. Two negative things stand out about Trae Young that would demotivate me from giving up a strong package for him: his poor defensive ability and efficiency.
We already know how Trae lacks on the defensive end already, but it almost seems like he’s getting worse as his career goes on. He had a career-worst defensive rating of 119 and committed the most shooting fouls in a season since his rookie year.
Along with the lack of ability he brings on the defensive end, his efficiency stinks. He shot his worst numbers from the field and from beyond the arc since his first season in the league. If I’m trading immense draft capital and paying almost $180 million over the next four seasons for a player, I’d like him to provide more than inefficient shot chucking.
3. The Utah Jazz should absolutely stay away from DeMar DeRozan.
Let’s list some of the pros and cons of a potential acquisition of DeRozan.
Pros: Good offensive player from about 20 feet out and inside, will probably hit a couple of fun game-winning shots over the course of a regular season, cool name.
Cons: Entering his age 34 season, shot 32% from three this past season, is a mediocre defender, making over $28 million next season, and is probably signing your team up for a ceiling of winning one play-in game.
While DeMar may be one of the most entertaining players to watch in the league, he’s never been a player that translates to winning basketball. Even when he had some of his best seasons in Toronto, his team never even came close to coming out of the conference.
If the Jazz were to make a move to bring in a 34-year-old DeMar DeRozan, that would signal an effort from the front office that they want to make an effort to compete in the West. At this current moment, not only are the Jazz too far away from a title to consider this move, but a DeMar is not the player to acquire to attempt to win games.