Rumors abound about what the Utah Jazz intend to do this offseason. Many pundits and fans seem to believe the Jazz may trade for a guy like Josh Giddey, someone who can bolster the perimeter defense and provide valuable passing to the team. This is even though he has struggles scoring the ball, and of course, those off-the-court issues that everyone knows all about.
There is a case to be made for Giddey coming to Utah. His defense is good, and his ability to push the offense up the court in both half-court and fast-break situations is impressive. He's a sizeable guard that the Jazz desperately need.
That said, after watching Giddey play for the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Dallas Mavericks it's fair to say that no one should be pitching any more trades between the Jazz and Thunder that involves Giddey.
When you average just 12.6 minutes per game against a sizeable set of guards like the Dallas Mavericks have, that's a clear sign that your coach doesn't have any faith in you. If your own coach doesn't have any faith in you, why should the Utah Jazz coaches or better yet, the fandom?
The Jazz need strong perimeter players for next season, and while Giddey brings size and defensive attributes on defense, he lacks any reliable three-point shot that would make his arrival necessary. He shot just 18% from three against the Mavericks, and while the Mavericks defense is good, they aren't so good that they could hinder a high-quality shooter to abysmal numbers. So clearly, Giddey is just rubbish from deep at this stage in his career.
His off-the-court stuff were, on their own, bad enough, but watching him become all but unplayable really has sealed the deal on whether or not the Jazz should ever trade for him. Giddey may be able to turn around his career in the NBA and bounce back from a horrid playoff series, but his rebound should be on another team. Not in Salt Lake.