1. Lillard land in SLC
The Portland Trail Blazers want the biggest package that they can get in return for Damian Lillard, and they would like to move Jusuf Nurkic’s contract off their books to begin their rebuild. The Jazz could accomplish both goals for Portland.
Utah has to make the salary matching work because Lillard and Nurkic make so much money. Here they get Utah’s ninth overall pick from this year plus the 14th selection from 2022 and three future firsts. Collin Sexton, Kelly Olynyk, and Talen Horton-Tucker serve as cap fillers to make things work.
Are the Utah Jazz ready to take a massive swing toward contention? They would still have Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler, Jordan Clarkson, and John Collins to support Damian Lillard. Utah has additional draft capital to add more talent, but it would immediately put them in win-now mode. Lillard is 32 years old and only has a few years left at the top of his game.
Acquiring Damian Lillard would likely be the first of a series of moves that gets them into the title picture. The Jazz would prefer to wait for someone younger, but that player may never hit the market.
This is a risky move by the Utah Jazz, but they cannot get back into title contention by being cautious. They have a logjam to clear, and the franchise should look to improve their roster in solving it. Will the Jazz do it? Stay tuned to find out.
5 Players the Utah Jazz gave up on a bit too soon
While the Utah Jazz are generally known for drafting and developing talent well, there are still a few great players the Jazz have fumbled along the way.