Trading talent for draft picks would be general manager malpractice at this point

We're done entertaining the idea of trading away good players for draft picks this season. The Utah Jazz are 21-20 and wrecking the league, going 14-4 over their last 18. This is a team that has knocked off some of the best teams in the NBA and did so in a dominating fashion. They aren't a perfect squad but they've shown elements that make one believe that they could not only make the playoffs but make some noise in the playoffs.

So the idea of trading away some of their best players for draft picks makes no sense. Never mind the fact that the Jazz are contending this very season, but draft picks are highly overrated. So many people fall in love with the possibility that comes along with draft picks that you forget you're drafting potential, not production.

And listen, the Utah Jazz shouldn't abandon their draft picks, they need them. Well, at least most of them. A good team is built through the draft regardless of the sports, but there's no reason to over-value the picks to such a point that you start selling off some of your better players for a mid-to-late first-round pick.

In fact, the trade the Jazz made with the Cleveland Cavaliers was the best example of a trade the team should make. Yes, they got a bunch of picks, but they also found their two best players Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton in that trade. It was a trade that combined production and potential. That's the route the Jazz need to take when considering moving anyone.

Just simply ask yourself, "Does this team make us better today, while maybe helping us out tomorrow?" If it doesn't, don't make the deal.

So when I see an article suggesting the New York Knicks should trade Evan Fournier and their 2024 First Round Draft Pick for Talen Horton-Tucker and Kelly Olynyk, I have to laugh. Why would the Jazz give up Olynyk for a player who's more likely to fail out of the NBA than anything? It'd hurt the Jazz right now and will very likely hurt them in years to come.

Now, Horton-Tucker for Fournier and the '24 first rounder is a deal that I would do in a heart-beat. But if you want any of the Jazz's best players, you're going to have to offer something up with more substance, especially since this team has gotten very good.