Jazz Could Land Top-10 Player in Near Future if ESPN Analyst is Right
Since the Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert trades last summer, the Utah Jazz appear to be ahead of schedule in rebuilding a roster that can get back in the playoff conversation. However, in order to compete for a championship, Utah will need to acquire a top-10 player in the league at some point.
Will a franchise-changing player become available in the near future? ESPN analyst and ex-Jazzman Richard Jefferson seems to think so.
“In the next two seasons, we will have three or four top-10 players switch teams. Go list the top-10 players in the league, and I think in two more seasons, three or four of them will be on a different team,” Jefferson said on his Road Trippin' podcast.
Obtaining a top-10 talent will be the biggest challenge for the small-market Jazz moving forward. Signing a free agent or acquiring one in this year's draft are both considered long shots, but Utah is positioned to be competitive if an opportunity presented itself in the trade market.
According to The Athletic's Tony Jones, when it comes to non-playoff teams, the Jazz's upside is second only to the Oklahoma City Thunder heading into the 2023 offseason. Jones shared his thoughts last month on ESPN 700's The Drive with Spence Checketts.
“If you take stock in every team that did not make the playoffs this year, I think the Jazz are in the second-best situation,” Jones told Checketts. “The only team I would take over the Jazz in terms of what their upside is would be the Oklahoma City Thunder. They have an All-Star [Lauri Markkanen] that’s 25 years old. They have a center [Walker Kessler], who I think one day is going to be an All-Star. I think Ochai Abaji is going to be a 10-year starter in the league. They have $32 million in cap space. They have a tremendous coach in Will Hardy and they have more assets than anyone in the league not named Oklahoma City.”
The Jazz have the cap space and a chest full of first-round picks that can be used in an exchange, but the bigger question is can a trade happen without sacrificing Markkanen or Kessler?
Taking a peek at the blockbuster trades that transpired this past year, the answer would be no. The Phoenix Suns had to sacrifice Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson to get Kevin Durant.
Markkanen and Colin Sexton were a part of the Mitchell exchange. Even in the Gobert trade, the Minnesota Timberwolves traded five rostered players, which included Kessler. It might be too early to declare the winner of those exchanges, but it’s trending to be a disaster for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Suns, and Timberwolves.
NBA Finals Takeaways
Robbing Peter to pay Paul is a strategy that doesn’t seem to be working in today's NBA. The proof is in the pudding when looking at the rosters of the two teams currently playing in the NBA finals.
The Denver Nuggets' two best players are homegrown in Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray. The Miami Heat acquired Jimmy Butler via trade but only had to give up Josh Richardson and a first-round pick.
Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro were obtained via the draft in the middle of the first round. Giving up the farm for one player can be bad for business.
What it Means
If the Jazz are going to take another step forward this year, they’ll need to either hit a home run in the upcoming draft or free agency. With the precedent that Jazz CEO Danny Ainge set last year in blockbuster-type exchanges, it feels like obtaining a top-10 talent via trade would be a lateral move at best.
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