Regardless of what happens in the immediate future, the Utah Jazz are going to be active in the trade market.
The Utah Jazz are in a prime position to make some moves with the expiring contracts of Kelly Olynyk, Talen Horton-Tucker, and the unknown status of Collin Sexton within the organization. His contract is coming due and it’s unclear how the Jazz view him currently. So it makes total sense that the Jazz would be involved in some trades in the future.
With or without Damian Lillard being involved.
And apparently, that seems to be the general idea from within the team, at least according to Tim MacMahon. According to the NBA Insider on the Lowe Post Podcast, the Utah Jazz are expected to be very active this season in pursuing trades, a move that makes all the sense in the world with the expiring contracts and copious amounts of first-round picks.
The Jazz need a viable starting point guard and they need to decide who they want to keep between Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson. Both men play very similar styles of basketball and it’s unlikely both would see their skills maximized sharing a rotation together. Not only that but they need to fortify the backup center position, and add some wing depth behind Lauri Markkanen.
They have the contracts needed, they have the picks needed, and they have the desire to get better, so it totally makes sense that the team will continue to improve over the coming weeks and months.
But does all that mean being involved in the Lillard trade? Who knows, but with names like Zach LaVine potentially on the market as well, not to mention the ever-growing and shifting situations around Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, it makes total sense that that Jazz wouldn’t just set their eyes on a Lillard or Tyler Herro trade, and instead keep looking to see who else they can find to improve their team.