The Utah Jazz trading for Jonas Valanciunas makes no sense

The Utah Jazz don’t need Jonas Valanciunas, but he sure would bolster the squad.

When we look at these trade ideas that the NBA media pitch for the Utah Jazz, there’s an element of intrigue with most of them. Sure, most aren’t worth the price that is being suggested, but for the most part, the pitches make sense. The Jazz need a position filled and said trade suggestion gives the team a player they could use. It’s simple.

Yet, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey may have lost the plot this time. In his latest trade suggestion, he has the Utah Jazz trade Kelly Olynyk for Jonas Valanciunas and a second-round draft pick. It’s a peculiar move, seeing as how the Jazz have a starting center and a quality backup in Olynyk. It also doesn’t make much sense, as both Olynyk and Valanciunas are roughly the same age, and both are on an expiring deal.

So why suggest this trade? Well, as Bailey writes;

"So, why would Utah do this? That answer begins and ends with the draft compensation.The Jazz were better than expected last season, but they’re still pretty close to the outset of their rebuild. Moving a veteran on an expiring contract—especially when the player coming back is on one as well—is preferable to the possibility of losing him for nothing in free agency next summer."

As a pure one-for-one evaluation, Valanciunas is better than Olynyk. He’s a better scorer, a better rebounder, and honestly just a better all-around player. But that’s if we’re talking about two centers. We’re not, however. While it’s obvious the Jazz should trade Olynyk, it’s not obvious that you trade for a pure center. Olynyk, unlike Valanciunas, can play power forward. He’s also a better passer than Valanciunas as well. This makes Olynyk the better fit for the Jazz, as he can come off the bench and be versatile for the Jazz, as he can shoot threes on top of passing well from the low post.

Valanciunas is a pure rebounder and inside scorer, you’re not going to be getting much out of him other than that. If the Jazz needed a center, sure, make the deal but they have Walker Kessler, whose ceiling is much more impressive than Valanciunas’ prime at the moment.

The second-round pick would be nice, but that’s not exactly worth taking on a guy who will bog down the rotation.