The Utah Jazz have already done the Minnesota Timberwolves quite a few favors since 2022. Most recently, they cut quality wing Johnny Juzang just for him to get a perfect flyer with the Timberwolves. A four-way trade idea involving the Jazz and Timberwolves would basically have them do it again, even if they wouldn't be sending any of their players to the Timberwolves.
Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus proposed the following four-way trade between the Jazz, Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, and Orlando Magic.
Timberwolves get: Anthony Black
Hawks get: Rob Dillingham, 2031 Timberwolves second-round pick, $4.5 million trade exception
Magic get: 2026 first-round pick (from Hawks), 2028 second-round pick (from Jazz), $8 million trade exception
Jazz get: Kobe Bufkin, Bones Hyland (sign-and-trade), $1.1 million from Magic
Minnesota basically gets a potential replacement for Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Utah wouldn't be the ones giving it to them, but their involvement gets the trade done. As for why the Jazz would agree to something like this, Pincus explained why.
"Utah essentially gets a free look at Bufkin. The rebuilding Jazz are acquiring young players to see which ones pop. Adding an almost 22-year-old former lottery pick for nothing but a weak 2028 second-rounder (the lowest of five teams) seems like a no-brainer," Pincus wrote.
He added that if such a deal were to take place, the Jazz would have confront their already-crowded roster, as they would be adding to more players to a roster that current has 16 of them.
"Roster space is an issue. The team is acquiring Georges Niang from the Boston Celtics, and with Bufkin and Hyland, the Jazz would need to get out of three players before the start of the regular season. Kevin Love is expected to be traded or cut, but Utah would have a couple of months to sort out the end of the roster (perhaps KJ Martin, Svi Mykhailiuk or Kyle Anderson). Hyland, who would only have the 2025-26 season guaranteed on his deal, might last a few days with the team, ripe for waiver to play overseas."
It's honestly not the worst situation to be in, but it would breed questions regarding who would stay and who would go.
The Jazz have had a good history with developing unknown young talent
Bufkin hasn't proven much since starting his NBA career in 2023. There's not much use in elaborating on that. Just know that the Jazz have had success developing guys who had proven very little to nothing when they joined the team.
Georges Niang and Royce O'Neale are among their biggest success stories, and their time with the Jazz has played a factor in why they're still in the NBA. It wouldn't be a given that Bufkin would have a similar journey, but Utah's track record is good enough that there wouldn't be much reason not to try out something like this if a trade like this was on the table.