The Utah Jazz have not made any substantial trades since the NBA Trade Deadline. Though there have been rumors swirling about Walker Kessler, they've hardly gone anywhere.
Outside of a few free agent additions, the Jazz are more or less where they were when the 2023-24 season ended. Part of this can be attributed to their most tradable players not having the markets they would have wanted, but there might be more to this than meets the eye.
Why teams struggle to make trades with the Jazz
ESPN's Brian Windhorst hinted at why teams don't trade with the Jazz during the September 6 episode of "NBA Today." He did so while revealing how Kessler could be a Knicks target.
"There's already been some connection between (the Knicks) and Walker Kessler with the Utah Jazz. The Jazz are difficult to deal with. They have very high asks."
The Knicks are among teams monitoring the availability of Robert Williams III per ESPN's .@WindhorstESPN.
— The Knicks Recap (@TheKnicksRecap) September 9, 2024
Windhorst on Knicks interest in Time Lord:
"I would say Robert Williams from Portland, any team looking for a center is going to watch Robert Williams closely this year.… pic.twitter.com/UJ9vXEWWLB
What Windhorst said there isn't necessarily earth-shattering news. Look what the Jazz got for Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, even though those teams peaked a while before they decided to cut ties with them.
However, even if those guys were stars, which is why Utah got so much for them to begin with, the Jazz currently possess some very useful players who move the needle for teams trying to win. Hence, if they trade them, it will only be because they got the complete haul that they wanted back for them.
It's no wonder that the Jazz are consistently playing hard to get when it comes to their assets. Even if they've made some of their players available via trade, they won't get rid of them simply because they want to.
Look no further than what's happened with Kessler. There's been enough smoke on that front to believe that there's fire, but Kessler has remained with the Jazz and will likely be there for opening night. Even if Kessler is a problem for Utah right now, the Jazz are smart enough to know of his potential and his value around the league, so they're not trading him unless they're getting a good price for him.
The same thing happened with Lauri Markkanen. Sure, the Warriors wanted him because of how much he'd help their chances of making another title run, but the Jazz were not settling for anything less than what they wanted in full. Because they didn't budge, no deal was ever reached. In fact, it sounds like negotiations never went anywhere between the two sides.
The team's current state allows the Jazz to hold all the cards at the table because they don't have much to lose. Utah would be willing to make a deal, but anyone who wants to get in discussions better be ready to part with assets they don't want to part with if they do.
It's why the Jazz may be sellers on the trade market, but also why they don't sell much to other teams.