3 Jazz Players to Monitor as NBA Trade Deadline Approaches
With a little less than a month left until the NBA trade deadline, the Utah Jazz have important decisions to make. As reported by Marc Stein, Jordan Clarkson rejected an extension to his contract.
Clarkson has grown as a favorite of Jazz Nation, especially considering his new elevated role with the team this season. With this news, nothing is off the table with enigmatic Jazz CEO Danny Ainge, who has proven to make bold moves that aren’t necessarily popular among players and fans over his tenure as an NBA executive.
After beginning this season with a hot 10-3 start, the Jazz have since won only 10 games and now sit at 20-23 on the season. This could alter how Ainge might prioritizes Utah's roster maneuvers ahead of the trade deadline.
With much uncertainty as far as the direction Ainge and the Jazz will take with the remainder of the season, we can sum up a short list of players that are at least part of the near future of the team. Lauri Markkanen has been a surprising success and is certainly in the running for Most Improved Player of the year, as well as in the running for his first All-Star appearance. He is Utah’s greatest asset and should be cemented as a cornerstone piece as the Jazz rebuild toward contention again.
Two more that may be off the table in the discussion are the two draft picks Utah gleaned in the Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell trades. Ochai Agbaji and Walker Kessler are in the first years of their respective contracts and have yet to show their true potential.
Kessler has cemented his spot in the rotation and has been thriving as one of the best paint protectors in the league. He isn’t the force Gobert was (at least yet), but he is a fast learner and will be important for the Jazz and their defense for years to come.
Agbaji is a different story entirely and may not even belong in the same category as Markkanen and Kessler. Still, as a first-year player who has only appeared in 18 games with the Jazz, Agbaji hasn’t been given the opportunity to prove himself over a longer stretch.
It's hard to say what his potential is, but Agbaji played 18 minutes on Thursday against Houston, scoring 11 points and playing most of the fourth quarter. Whether he is part of the Jazz's long-term future is still unknown, but Utah will at least give him stronger opportunities before giving up on him.
After these three, I don’t see the Jazz being attached to any other players long-term or even beyond this trade deadline. As a .500 team, Utah should seriously consider trading for younger assets and giving them the opportunity to grow and develop together with Markkanen as the leader with an eye toward a strong draft.
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