Don't expect a lot of fireworks from the Utah Jazz at the trade deadline. They aren't trading Lauri Markkanen, and their most appealing veteran that could be had at the right price is Jusuf Nurkic, who Utah reportedly plans to keep.
So it wouldn't be surprising if Utah either stays put at the deadline, does what they did last year (help execute blockbuster trades), or helps teams save money without damaging their cap room. Teams will want to get rid of expendable salary to dodge the tax and tax aprons, and one player who fits that bill is D'Angelo Russell.
The Salt Lake Tribune's Andy Larsen floated the idea (NOT REPORTING) of Utah acquiring Russell when talking about teams potentially looking to dump salary. He first noted that Utah has more cap room than all but one NBA team.
"The Jazz currently stand as the team with the second-most cap space in the NBA, behind only the Brooklyn Nets. The Jazz are $10 million under the NBA’s salary cap, giving them flexibility to acquire contracts in exchange for assets," Larsen wrote.
Because of that, he could see Utah acquring someone like Russell at the deadline
"D’Angelo Russell has fallen out of Dallas’ rotation; it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Mavs dump his salary on the Jazz in exchange for a smaller asset."
Russell was the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and made the All-Star team in Brooklyn in 2019, as he was a electric scorer when he was at the top of his game, but those days appear to be gone, as his numbers have cratered and he's in the Mavericks' doghouse despite all their injuries.
The Jazz have a full roster at the moment, so if they were to acquire Russell, they would likely have to waive or trade someone to make that happen. Then again, they don't need someone like him, especially with his history,
Russell has been a controversial player because, despite his immense talent when he was at the top of his game, his immaturity has been apparent from pretty much the get-go. That in and of itself would be enough for Utah to steer clear of him. While that's a given, why would he be an ironic addition?
Russell & Rudy Gobert did not get along in Minnesota
It seems like a distant memory now, but at first, the Rudy Gobert trade looked semi-disastrous for the Timberwolves when it first started, but once the Jazz sent them Mike Conley, everything fell into place for them. Sending them a veteran leader like Conley helped with that, but getting rid of Russell was also benficiary.
As it turned out, Gobert and Russell did not get along at all during their brief time as teammates, with the latter openly criticizing the former both on and off the court, leading to tension that affected team chemistry.
It came as no surprise that once they swapped Russell for Conley, the dysfunction completely evaporated and the team took off from there. If the Jazz were to get Russell, they would likely waive and stretch him, as his current contract wouldn't hurt their cap sheet too much.
In the end, a Russell trade wouldn't amount to much, but it would just be funny to acquire someone who was such a poison to a Jazz icon.