The Utah Jazz are still in the middle of perpetual trade rumors, thanks to the idea that the club is "rebuilding" despite the fact they're 22-20, have won six straight, are 9-1 in their last 10 and 15-4 in their last nine; all while defeating playoff team after playoff team. Yet, for some reason, there are noise makers in the media who seem to suggest the Jazz "need" to trade key players. And usually for pieces of parts.
Whether it's Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, or someone else who has been a driving force for the Jazz, it's like the NBA media wants to butcher the Jazz's franchise to just feed the "better" squads in the NBA. Which is a crock, because this team is on the rise because of those players. There's no concrete certainty that Taylor Hendricks Keyonte George or Brice Sensabaugh will ever become as good as the guys ahead of them.
That's a fallacy that many in the NBA media just assume is true. That rookies will always turn into good or great players, as long as they do X, Y, and Z. But that's not the case, and oftentimes, if not a majority of times, rookies flame out in the NBA by the end of their first contract.
Yet, the "value" that everyone wants in trades ends up being draft picks, despite the fact most of the time, those players never develop to be as good as the players traded. So it makes zero sense, what so ever to have a team like the Jazz trade Sexton, just because they have a rookie who some like in George.
The Jazz has their "point guard of the future", and that's Sexton. He can give you eight, maybe nine, heck even possibly 10 years of prime, to nearly prime level play. He's proven with the Jazz, and with Markkanen specifically, that if you give him the right teammates, he can lead your team to victories.
This isn't about coming down on George, it's about pointing out that the team has a direction in which they can find success in. They have the possibility of success without blowing up a very good nucleus. And if you have to trade someone for a major name, it shouldn't be Sexton or Markkannen. That's your core. That's the duo who should be given a shot.
Embrace Sexton as the man of the hour and the man of the future, and see what he can do.