Many were shocked to find out that the Utah Jazz acquired Jaren Jackson Jr. They absolutely needed an elite defender, which is only one aspect of JJJ's game, but no one would have thought they would have reeled in a big fish like Jackson. Even crazier is that they can absolutely make the same move again.
They don't need another player like him on the team, but could use one that raises their ceiling even higher. It's hard to figure out what exactly they need because of their blank slate. And we won't know what this team's ceiling looks like until they take the floor.
As we understand this team more, they should be well-equipped to go for a JJJ-like upgrade with what they have in their arsenal.
They have the draft assets
Thanks to the Walker Kessler trade, Utah owns the Los Angeles Lakers for pretty much the rest of this decade and the start of the next. The Jazz likely won't sit around and wait for those assets to turn into actual players, so if they prove they are one piece away from a title contender, those Lakers assets will be golden.
They also still have some assets remaining from the other trades they have made over the past few years from the Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert trades. If and when a superstar wants out, and said superstar fits exactly what Utah needs, expect them to be at the front of the line in trade discussions.
They have the young talent
It's fair to say that Ace Bailey, Darryn Peterson, and Keyonte George aren't going anywhere, but that still leaves some of their other prospects that have some promise even if their ceiling aren't as high as some of their others ones.
Cody Williams, Kyle Filipowski, Isaiah Collier, and Brice Sensabaugh all bring something to the table that should intrigue fans. One may think that might not be enough, but remember that player-wise, the only youngsters Utah gave up for JJJ are Taylor Hendricks and Walter Clayton Jr.
Memphis was primarily after Utah's draft assets, which now hold more value than ever. Because the Jazz have that yet again, combining that with one of these players could lead to another JJJ trade. Plus, as everyone should know, the Jazz likely aren't keeping all of them.
They have the stepping stones
Utah has a $15 million trade exception from the Walker Kessler trade, which they could use to acquire someone to be salary filler for a bigger deal. The Jazz may not have intended it at the time (but who knows?), but Georges Niang became a valuable commodity as he and Kyle Anderson helped match salaries for Jackson.
Not that anyone's pushing for this, but if the plan is a center upgrade, it won't be long before Jusuf Nurkic and Jaxson Hayes will be trade-eligible. Along with Svi Mykhailiuk, Utah could potentially have enough expendable salaries to make another splash.
The Jazz have no incentive to do this now, but they have prepped themselves well for another blockbuster trade. It might not even happen until next year, but there is definitely an opportunity to surprise everyone like they did when they acquired JJJ back in February.
Add us as a preferred source on Google