Top 4 Utah Jazz players likely to be dealt at the trade deadline
By Chad Porto
Kelly Olynyk and Jordan Clarkson
We're including both Kelly Olynyk and Jordan Clarkson in the same section because you've heard this song and dance before. Heck, you've heard it all season long. The two men have been trade targets since the offseason with many thinking Clarkson was all but done and gone before he signed his extension.
For the Jazz, Olynyk offers a nice expiring contract, but moving on from the big man would leave the Utah Jazz thin among reliable bigs. Sure, you could bring Taylor Hendricks in, but the lottery pick isn't a guarantee to replace Olynyk's playmaking or defensive abilities, and if he can't, why move Olynyk?
Clarkson on the other hand has to go. He's proven time and time again that he's just not the guy the Jazz need. He's better suited to do his thing on a deeper and more talented team; one that can mask his flaws. On the Jazz, he has to do things like play defense, something he just can't or won't do. On a different team, he may have enough guys around him to carry his load defensively, which just isn't the case here in Utah.
Both men should net the Jazz a pretty penny, hopefully, a first-rounder each, but getting off of Clarkson's money and not having to worry about his play would be an addition-by-subtraction type of situation.