The Utah Jazz have never been linked to Daniel Gafford, but with the moves they've made and with him very much available, he suddenly makes a lot of sense as a Walker Kessler replacement. The Jazz have quite a few options at center, but on paper, Gafford would be better than all of them.
The Jazz also have another problem: they have quite a few young players who will be up for extensions soon. Trading Kessler was the clear indication that they know they have to choose carefully with whom they want to keep.
SLC Dunk's James Hansen proposed a trade in which the Jazz could get Gafford while taking care of a problem before it becomes one. He floated the following deal between the Jazz and the Dallas Mavericks.
Jazz get: Gafford
Mavericks get: Brice Sensabaugh, Cody Williams
Hansen had a pretty good rationale for why Utah would want Gafford.
"This is the perfect type of move for the Utah Jazz. Gafford isn’t a star center but is a league-average player across the board and is a net positive on the defensive end. Dunks and Threes has his block percentage (4.9) in the 92nd percentile. He’s also in the 91st percentile in offensive rebounding. That type of rim pressure on both ends of the floor is a great way to replace what was lost in the Walker Kessler trade," Hansen wrote.
Gafford is not as good as Kessler, but could be good enough as a replacement for Utah not to suffer much from his departure. Jusuf Nurkic and Jaxson Hayes are perfectly adequate to fill in for Kessler, but their ceiling together is limited.
The Jazz are trying to win now, but with the CBA's restrictions, they know that they can't pay everyone. Getting ahead of it by trading Sensabaugh and Williams would make a move like this twice as smart.
Dallas would also likely want draft capital
The Mavericks are now officially embracing a rebuild, as they basically got a flyer on Zaccharie Risacher in the Lu Dort trade for practically nothing yesterday. It would make sense if they wanted Sensabaugh and Williams to build a core of young players around Cooper Flagg.
However, Sensabaugh and Williams have contributed to anything worthwhile, even if they have shown promise in their own ways. For that reason, the Mavericks probably will want more than just them. In other words, they will want first-round picks.
If Utah were to trade for Gafford, it would be for the same reason Dallas did back in 2024: believing he was the last piece of the championship puzzle. Because of that, the Mavericks will want compensation similar to what the Wizards did when they traded him in 2024. If not, more so.
Don't be surprised if Utah lets things play out a bit this coming season before they consider going after Gafford, but if they do, a package like this (as long as it comes with draft assets) would hold a lot of appeal to the Mavericks.
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