Report: Jazz Had 'Serious' Trade Talks With Warriors Around Kelly Olynyk
With the long-awaited NBA trade deadline finally coming to a close this past Thursday, we're now starting to get some more developments on some of the happenings that took place ahead of the league cutoff date. All things considered, it was a mainly uneventful day around the league, but that doesn't mean teams weren't working behind the scenes to make a splash happen.
Among those teams working diligently around the clock was the Golden State Warriors. While we didn't see them get involved in anything on deadline day, it wasn't without a valiant effort.
According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, the Warriors were among the teams generating interest in former Utah Jazz big man Kelly Olynyk before the deadline. Golden State reportedly had "very serious" conversations around the 11-year league vet, along with Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso:
"[The Warriors] had very serious conversations about Alex Caruso, Kelly Olynyk, teams were calling about Andrew Wiggins... Everybody asked for Jonathan Kuminga and they essentially said, 'We are never trading him. He is untouchable.'"
Instead of heading to the Bay, Olynyk ended up with the Toronto Raptors alongside Ochai Agbaji for a return of Otto Porter Jr., Kira Lewis Jr., and a projected late first-round pick for this upcoming summer. In the end, the Warriors decided to stand pat without making a move on Thursday.
An addition of Olynyk to Golden State would've been one that gave them a strong boost on the offensive side of the ball by adding his unique combination of size, shooting, and playmaking ability. He proved to be a reliable leader in the second unit for Utah, and would've likely brought similar to the Warriors.
While they opted to remain conservative, it's looked like the right decision up to this point. Golden State has won seven of their last eight games, most recently against the Jazz on Monday night in blowout fashion. Sometimes, the correct move to make turns out to be none at all.
The Jazz may have been able to secure the services of a player like Wiggins from the Warriors or a similar package of draft capital, but their actual return of a first-rounder and some expiring contracts is a fair haul for what was given up. Moving forward, it allow Utah to lean into their youth movement and continue to build for the long-haul.
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