The Utah Jazz were not likely to benefit from the James Harden situation.
The Utah Jazz are waiting to see what, if anything, happens with Damian Lillard. The team has seemingly sunk some considerable hours and manpower into investigating how to help third-party teams acquire Lillard for their own game, but how they themselves could also land Lillard. Though the quest for Lillard was a short and brief adventure that is now over.
But if the Miami Heat want to make the Lillard deal work, the Jazz are the best bets to make that happen. What the Jazz aren’t doing, however, is waiting around on James Harden. The Jazz have no interest in acquiring Harden or helping the Los Angeles Clippers acquire Harden.
The Clippers getting Harden would only hurt the Jazz’s chances this year to make the playoffs, as opposed to the Heat, who play in the East. So while it’s no surprise the 76ers are opting not to trade Harden at this point, where it is surprising is that the Jazz would at all be impacted by such a decision.
Jared Koch of Sports Illustrated wrote that the Harden trade debacle not happening kept the Jazz from getting involved. And while yes, the Jazz seem like the team who would throw themselves into any trade if they thought it made them better, this was not a trade they were ever linked to. So it’s disingenuous to say that the hopes of a three-team trade died because Harden and Daryl Morey are playing a game of millionaire chicken.
The Jazz were never likely to be involved in that trade, as we previously mentioned, because that would directly mean the Clippers get better. Why would they want a team like the Clippers, a team that won just seven games more than the Jazz, to get better? It makes no sense.