The latest from the rumor mill is that the Utah Jazz are interested in Kevin Durant. Well, they would have to get in line, but hey, Utah wants the big guns. Even if he will be 38 years old by the start of next season, Durant still is that. Even better, Utah would have a compelling package to offer him compared to most competitors.
Even better-er, they could make a compelling package to Houston without having to compromise any of their top-five: Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, Jaren Jackson Jr., Walker Kessler, and Ace Bailey.
Even after the JJJ trade, Utah is still under the cap, so they can acquire Durant in a sign-and-trade. That's what makes the following deal possible between the two sides.
Jazz receive: Durant
Rockets receive: Utah's 2026 top-8 pick, Cody Williams, Brice Sensabaugh, Svi Mykhailiuk, John Konchar, Jusuf Nurkic (S&T for $14 million)
Houston would get a lot more youth (if they plan to get younger) to go with deals that could come off their cap space immediately. Neither side could make a trade like this until the new NBA season starts technically in July, but they could absolutely agree to it beforehand.
Another option is to do what Cleveland did to get their hands on Kevin Love back in 2014: sign their rookie to his rookie deal, wait a month to aggregate, then include that to match salaries so as to perhaps keep some of their other young players on the roster.
Regardless of how the deal would be executed, inserting Durant into the Jazz's rotation with that top-five would inarguably put Utah among the best of the best. He is still an excellent scorer who would make the Jazz's jumbo-sized lineup a fun experiment that could pay massive dividends.
Sure, it would come at the expense of putting Bailey on the bench, but who's to say he wouldn't be a super-sub?
There's only one downside to a Durant trade
Durant is expensive. He will make almost $44 million next season and has a player option for $46-plus million the season after that. Utah has $95 million, give or take, committed to both Markkanen and JJJ combined for next season alone. They also have to figure out how much they will pay to keep Kessler's services.
Oh, and they will also have to pay up for Keyonte George the summer after that if they don't confront it this summer. That is one expensive payroll. At the same time, Utah may bite that bullet of being above the league's second tax apron because a title is a title, and it can never be taken away from them.
Durant can be had this summer, and he can be had for much less than what the typical haul would cost. Utah has made it clear that they want to be the best team possible. It may be a longshot, but there's a chance they could add Durant without compromising much of their current core. If they are in the title conversation, why wouldn't they do something like this the first chance they got?
Add us as a preferred source on Google