It was pretty obvious from the get-go that once the Utah Jazz acquired Kevin Love in the John Collins deal, Love wasn't spending a minute donning the purple and white. More intel has only confirmed that, but what that intel has also indirectly confirmed is that the other asset acquired from the Collins deal, Kyle Anderson, might just be staying put in Utah.
Marc Stein revealed the latest on where things stand between Love and the Jazz. In short, he would *love* to be on another team, so to speak.
"Five-time NBA All-Star Kevin Love is actively exploring potential pathways out of Utah after he was dealt by Miami to the Jazz as part of the three-team Norman Powell trade," Stein wrote.
No matter how the situation resolves itself, either via trade or buyout, Love is definitely playing for a different team this coming season. However, this wasn't the first time we had heard about what Love wanted after Utah acquired him, and we haven't heard at all about what Utah plans to do with Anderson.
That could signify that the plan is to keep Anderson. If the plan wasn't to do that, why hasn't there been any intel about what they are going to do next? No one would have a problem with that decision. It's one of those situations where it really can't hurt the Jazz to keep someone like him around.
Anderson is a playoff performer who has earned the nickname "Slo-Mo" but he is still a good player that multiple teams have depended on him in the postseason. He has become somewhat of a journeyman in recent years, but that doesn't have much to do with him as much as it does with his previous NBA teams simply gunning for an upgrade.
First it was the Warriors upgrading to Jimmy Butler, then it was the Heat upgrading to Norman Powell. From the look of things, the Jazz probably won't look for an upgrade, but they may agree to another multi-team deal involving Anderson where another trade partner would want an upgrade.
Besides what Anderson can do on the court, his contract is pretty team-friendly, as the last year of his current deal is non-guaranteed, so Utah does not have to rush anything. If he has a market, the Jazz should entertain it, but if not, the team can easily just let him take a spot for a season and then let him go.
We'll know for sure when the move get announced
Even though the deal happened almost a month ago, the Jazz have not officially announced the acquisitions of Love or Anderson. By contrast, the team announced the not-so-beloved Collin Sexton for Jusuf Nurkic trade almost immediately after it was reported.
When things become official, then everyone will know what the plan is. Anderson might be a Jazzman. He might not. Regardless, the fact that there's been leaks about Love's next move but not Anderson makes it easy to conclude that the latter might be on the team come opening night.