When the NBA trade deadline approached, the expectation with the Utah Jazz was that their most notable move would be to trade John Collins, Jordan Clarkson, and Collin Sexton. Shockingly, all three remained with the team.
However, the Jazz were still pretty active at the deadline. They made a series of trades that started with trading away Drew Eubanks and Patty Mills and ended with them trading for KJ Martin and a few second-round picks. They got more second-round picks as the third team in the Luka Doncic deal. They also made a deal that got plenty of attention at first, but has since died down a lot.
That was primarily because of the earth-shaking Doncic trade that followed not too long afterward, but the Jazz made a pretty slick move when they traded three first-round picks to the Phoenix Suns for their unprotected 2031 first-round pick.
At the time, the understanding was that it helped both sides. The Jazz got the best asset, but the Suns got more draft assets in the hopes of acquiring an upgrade to their rotation before the deadline passed.
But then, that didn't happen.
The Suns were aiming for Jimmy Butler, but nothing came to be from that, so their trade with Utah, which is almost two months old now, was considered the Suns' "biggest regret" this season by Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz. Swartz explained why this deal only looks worse in hindsight.
"That deal initially implied the Suns had a Jimmy Butler agreement teed up, which in turn suggested they convinced Bradley Beal to waive his no-trade clause. So much for that.
"Phoenix's grand plan instead featured using a 2026 first-rounder to salary-dump Jusuf Nurkić. That is underwhelming for a team supposedly all-in on now," Swartz wrote.
This showed how smart the Jazz's front office was at the deadline
The Suns currently have one of the most uncertain futures in the NBA. The Kevin Durant era has been nothing short of a complete failure, and it reflects much more on the Suns than it does on him, because despite entering his late-30s, Durant still looks like he's in his prime.
Phoenix has two options for next season: either repeat the season with Durant and the same roster, which risks making things worse than they already are, or admit defeat, which means trading Durant and others for assets, to start anew. It's a "pick your poison" scenario for them.
And this is all working out beautifully for the Jazz. It was already pretty smart of them to exchange expendable draft assets that looked like they wouldn't have much value for one that could have a ton of value six years from now, especially knowing how bad things currently are for Phoenix.
There's a really good chance this situation will only get worse for the Suns no matter what choice they make, which puts Utah in a prime position to get another lottery pick that isn't their own. That's brilliant front office work to get another lottery pick without costing much.
The Jazz didn't make the moves at the trade deadline that many thought they would, but even so, this could go down as one of the most rewarding deadlines in franchise history if everything goes their way in 2031.