The Utah Jazz are in a unique place where they could compete or have a firesale in 2024.
The Utah Jazz are a team in limbo for the most part. They’re both a playoff contender and a team that’s liable to trade away some impressive assets if they stumble. It really all depends on how things break, and when they break. If they get to the trade deadline, fighting for one of the top six spots in the playoffs, it wouldn’t make sense for the front office to wholesale the veterans on the team.
If they’re competing for a play-in spot, or are out of the running already, then it’s very likely the team ends up trading away huge pieces of their roster. It really all comes down to when and how this team is doing.
But if you remember, this front office is already used to such scenarios.
Think of last year, when the Utah Jazz were literally in this exact situation. The team was doing well, in the playoff chase, but also not so far in it that you’d think they’d win it all if they made it. So the team decided to make some moves.
Despite doing well, the team traded away Mike Conley and recently acquired players Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt (who came over in the Rudy Gobert trade), all for Russell Westbrook, who they didn’t even keep. So yes, the Jazz is a team that has already shown that they’d rather ship away assets for better assets if it looks like they’re going to be stuck in mediocrity.
So if that looks like it’s going to happen again, what three players are likely to be traded away?
Kelly Olynyk
It’s fair to say that if anyone has to go, it’s likely to be Kelly Olynyk. Not only is he aging out of the team, but he’s not that far away from being out of the NBA. He’s 32 years old and is without a doubt the oldest player on the team right now. He’s not only the oldest, the second oldest being Jordan Clarkson, but he’s also on an expiring contract.
The kind of contract a team would like back in any deal that involves a star with a long and hefty contract. While getting another big-ish name would be great, trading him sort of depends, however, on if he wants to stick around Utah.
Who knows if he’s interested in sticking around, the team did re-up on Clarkson, so it would stand to reason the Jazz would like to have done the same for Olynyk, but if he doesn’t want to stay, then that’s on him.
Truthfully, no one would blame him if he doesn’t. He got traded to Utah, he didn’t necessarily want to be here. More than that, even if he did want to be with the Jazz, he’s seeing the writing on the wall. In one offseason he went from a starter at two possible positions to a backup at two different positions.
The arrival of John Collins and the drafting of Taylor Hendricks have made it very clear that he’s not needed at power forward anymore, and Walker Kessler is holding down the center spot with an iron grip. For Olynyk, coming off the bench in Utah is the only future he should expect.
And if that’s not a future he wants, we’re back to talking about trades.
Jordan Clarkson
As mentioned above, Jordan Clarkson is the second oldest player on the team, but unlike Olynyk, he’s under contract for another two seasons after agreeing to an extension. Clarkson, 31 years old, has been with the team for four seasons so far and seems to really enjoy the city and team.
Why else would he re-up when he could hit free agency and easily make about the same amount of money in a different place? Clarkson likes being in Utah it seems and that’s a good thing, but liking where you are won’t stop Danny Ainge if a deal comes along he likes.
Just like Olynyk, there are a lot of reasons to think Clarkson will get traded. He’s older and doesn’t fit the team’s current window of winning. While Olynyk’s contract is expiring, thus making him an interesting prospect for a team to unload a bad contract through, Clarkson’s contract is the type of deal a team would love to receive back.
It’s on the cheaper side, it’s for several more seasons, and he comes with the added bonus of still being in his prime. Unlike Olynyk, Clarkson had a career year in 2022-2023. He dropped nearly 21 points per game this past season. While the Jazz guard shot just 33.8% from three, he shot above his career average for the season. So a team may very well be willing to ship a first-round pick the Jazz’s way for Clarkson.
The former Sixth Man of the Year Winner is likely to make whatever team he’s on come April a very dangerous squad indeed.
Talen Horton-Tucker
If we’re talking about players who fit the criteria of a very tradeable piece, Talen Horton-Tucker takes the cake. He’s the perfect player to trade. Firstly, his contract, as with Kelly Olynyk before him, he’s got a great deal if you’re another team looking to unload a massive contract. He’s paid over $10 million this year, and it’s in the last year of said deal after opting into his player option this season.
And while Jordan Clarkson’s deal makes Clarkson attractive to teams who are buying, Horton-Tucker’s contract makes him an asset to teams who are buying and selling. Unlike both Clarkson and Olynyk, Horton-Tucker isn’t in his early 30s. In fact, he’s a good decade younger than both men.
Horton-Tucker is only 22 years old and will be 23 to start the season. So while his contract makes him a player that teams will want to sell off a bad contract for, his age makes him a player teams will want to pay up for. Horton-Tucker could fetch the Jazz a second-round pick or two, or three.
The only issue that you run into with Horton-Tucker is the same reason why the Jazz is likely to trade him in the first place; he’s extremely bad at scoring efficiently. He’s shot under .419 over the last two seasons, and can’t hit 30% from three to save his life.
He’s not a great asset but someone may think they can turn him into a reliable player and offer up some picks. Or he can be paired with Olynyk in a deal that helps a team move off salary from a high priced player.