Trading season has now officially begun! And it starts with a backup center. Yeah, Thomas Bryant is not the biggest name, and directly, his trade to the Pacers doesn't affect the Utah Jazz in the slightest in terms of their tanking or their upcoming matchups against the Pacers or Heat.
However, this could play a factor - albeit a tiny one - in trade negotiations with players they plan to sell off. Before we get to that, the Pacers have sound reasoning to do this. They needed a backup center since both of their backup bigs went down with season-ending Achilles tears early.
Yes, this is relevant for the Jazz.
It may not be much, but this will impact the Jazz to some degree
Indiana acquiring Bryant likely eliminates them as a potential trade partner for Utah once Drew Eubanks becomes trade-eligible. The Pacers have not had the season they had hoped for after making their surprise run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Eubanks could have been a good addition for them, which could have led to Utah corraling another solid asset for him.
Second, this sets the tone for what the Jazz should expect when Eubanks hits the trade market. Eubanks has been named among the players who the Jazz will likely trade away once they can trade him.
The Heat got a second-round pick swap in exchange for Bryant, which really means next to nothing as a trade return. Eubanks is arguably better than Bryant, as he's been featured a lot more for the Jazz than Byrant was for the Heat, but that could be the price for what teams will want in return for Eubanks.
This isn't the worst news in the world for Utah. It's not like the Jazz expect to get a haul for someone like Eubanks, a perfectly adequate backup center who has done just fine in Utah. It's also pretty clear that he doesn't have much of a long-term future with the Jazz with Walker Kessler's return to form and Kyle Filipowski's impressive start.
Another possibility is that the Jazz don't plan to trade Eubanks in a straight-up trade but rather add him to another player they send out as part of a deluxe package, like Jordan Clarkson or John Collins. Eubanks may not be too flashy, but he would be a solid add if teams want help in their frontcourt for cheap.
The first domino has finally fallen in trading season, and while it doesn't drastically alter things for the Jazz, it is something that they should keep in mind.