It's debatable whether the Utah Jazz acquired the biggest name at the NBA Trade Deadline, but what doesn't seem debatable is that their acquisition of Jaren Jackson Jr. was the most shocking move of the deadline. The Jazz are firmly one of the NBA's worst teams, and leading up to the trade, there wasn't much buzz about JJJ getting moved. Among those who were surprised was LeBron James.
While talking about JJJ on his podcast "Mind the Game" with Steve Nash, James admitted that the Jazz getting their hands on the former Defensive Player of the Year took him by surprise.
"That was an interesting trade. I didn't see that coming. There was talks of Jaren Jackson Jr. not being part of the Memphis Grizzlies future, but I didn't see it being Utah and going there and doing that."
James then even singled out Danny Ainge for utilizing his arsenal of draft assets.
"Danny Ainge... between him and (Sam Presti), they got a billion first-round picks locked up so they can pretty much do anything. It's like they play Monopoly at this point."
James surprisingly has little history with the Jazz despite his long and illustrious NBA career. A lot of that is because most of his career was played back East. Because of that, it's nice to see him give Utah props for pulling off the move.
But he's speaking for everyone here
Utah has traded for some big names over the years, but not in this specific fashion. They traded for Adrian Dantley to put some respect on their name. They traded for Jeff Hornacek to get some reinforcements for their title aspirations. They traded for Mike Conley to vault them to title contenders.
But never have we seen a Jazz team, in the middle of a tanking season, acquire a star like Jackson with the intention of building a playoff contender next season. Jackson was in trade rumors, but no one thought Utah would be his next team, or that the Jazz would entertain trading for him, given where they were as a team before the deal was completed.
But it makes all the sense in the world when thinking about the endgame for Utah. Sadly, getting him while still tanking has created a whole new controversy, but an aggressive trade like this is one anyone would have done too, as it could pay massive dividends by next season.
This trade isn't Luka Doncic-esque in terms of shocking, but no one saw it coming. Even crazier is that once the Jazz direction, if they establish among the Western Conference powerhouses, everyone will see it coming.