3 Key Players Not-Named Donovan Mitchell Jazz Could Trade in 2022

Donovon Mitchell's future may dominate the water cooler chatter this summer, but how about the fate of other Utah Jazz players like Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Jordan Clarkson?

Let’s take a look at what could happen to these fan favorites as the Jazz continue to give the 2022-23 roster a makeover.

Mike Conley

If we’re being honest, the trade and re-sign of Conley is a major contributor to why the Jazz are contemplating a rebuild. In the offseason of 2019, the Jazz traded Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver, Grayson Allen, and a late first-round pick for a past-his-prime 31-year-old Conley.

In 2021, the Jazz renewed their faith in the trade by re-signing Conley to a three-year, $68 million contract. The Conley experiment never worked out, and the Jazz are now left with an aging player and a bad contract that’s difficult to move.

Executive Danny Ainge will do everything he can to trade Conley to another team this offseason, but the Jazz may be stuck holding the bag this year. As his contract gets closer to expiring, Conley will be easier to trade, but don’t hold your breath this season.

Bojan Bogdanovic

The chances that Bogdanovic will be traded this season are very high. I would even say that he has a higher chance of being moved than Mitchell.

Bogdanovic is a player with a skill set that will be in high demand, an expiring contract, and on a team that won’t be contending — all of which is a recipe for a trade at some point this season. If the Jazz want to increase their chances of getting a top-3 pick in next year’s draft, it would behoove the team to move Bogdanovic before the season starts. The demand will be high, and the return for the Jazz will be too good to pass up.

Jordan Clarkson

This is a tough one. Clarkson still has two years left on his deal at a reasonable $14M per year. There’s no doubt that he's a player that can bring back assets in an exchange, but I’m thinking the Jazz should hold onto the former 6th Man of the Year for at least one more season.

Clarkson's ability to create his own shot off the bench is hard to duplicate. There’s no urgency to trade him until 2023-24 when his contract expires, at which point Utah could still be in the middle of a major rebuild.

The Jazz are eventually going to be playing for the present, and that time could come sooner than expected. Ainge is in a position where he could see how 2022-23 plays out before deciding on Clarkson.

Bottom Line

All that being said, don’t be in a rush to buy these jerseys any time soon. At least, not until we get more clarity on what direction Ainge truly intends to take the Jazz moving forward.

Follow Patrick on Twitter @pbyrnesNBA.