Grade the trade proposal: Jazz pick the wrong direction in 3-team swap

The Utah Jazz could very well be involved when trading season comes along in the coming months. The Jazz indeed have multiple veterans they could part ways with, but that doesn't mean they should do it just because.

The first veteran that comes to mind is John Collins, who the Jazz will pay over $50 million for the next two years to come off the bench. Hoops Habit's Cal Durrett proposed a three-team trade that would help the Jazz get Collins off their payroll. Better yet, they would snare Brandon Ingram. However, more would be at play.

Durrett proposed the following trade between the Jazz, New Orleans Pelicans, and New York Knicks

Jazz get: Ingram

Pelicans get: Collins, Mitchell Robinson, Jazz 2027 First-Round Pick

Knicks get: Walker Kessler, Jordan Hawkins, Karlo Matkovic

Now, before getting to why the Jazz would say not to this trade, the team that gets the short end of the stick is easily the Pelicans. They give up the best player in the trade (Ingram), get an overpaid center (Collins), an injury-prone center (Robinson), and one first-round pick for their troubles.

They may need a center more than any team in the NBA, but they are not that desperate.

This trade gives the Jazz a direction, but it's not one they want to take

This isn't a terrible trade for the Jazz by any means. Getting off Collins, getting the best player in the deal, and opening up potential cap flexibility would make it a good trade. The problem is the later ramifications.

Getting an all-star caliber wing like Ingram would basically be the Jazz declaring that they are going to try to make the playoffs. The problem is, even if he raises their ceiling a bit, pretty much every team in the Western Conference will try to make the playoffs. Ingram would make them undeniably better than the other tanking teams, but will it make them better than, say, Houston?

It's debatable, but the Jazz would have to claw their way to make the play-in. Is a season like that worth missing out on the opportunity to draft Cooper Flagg? Knowing that Ingram could also bolt this offseason, no.

Also, if it didn't cost the Jazz anything valuable to acquire Ingram, this trade would be harder to refuse. Because they are giving up valuable assets, it's not worth it.

This deal would hinge on the Jazz really trying to get rid of Kessler by any means necessary. He may have been on the rumor mill all summer long, but he's not viewed anywhere close to how they view Collins. In other words, they're not dumping him. If that were the mindset, he wouldn't be on the Jazz right now.

More importantly, getting rid of Kessler and Collins hurts Utah's frontcourt depth, leaving them with Lauri Markkanen, Drew Eubanks, and Kyle Filipowski. If their true intent was to win, which would be their intent if they got Ingram, then that is not good.

So in short, if this deal cost simply Collins and a first to get Ingram, that's intriguing, but it costs more and gives the Jazz a direcion they probably shouldn't take.

Grade: C-