3 Early Jazz Trade Candidates to Get Moved at February’s Deadline

To begin the 2023-24 NBA season, the Utah Jazz have started with a less-than-ideal 3-7 overall record. It slots them at 14th place in the Western Conference and 26th overall in the league. It might be too premature to be throwing out any ideas of blatant tanking for this team, but the idea of making some valued pieces available at the trade deadline should be discussed.

With a roster possessing a collection of young talent looking to make the next steps in their careers, it might not be out of the realm of possibilities to see the Jazz be sellers at this year’s deadline if the wins and losses continue to shake out the way they have been. Such a decision effectively elevates the amount of minutes and shot attempts available for the hopeful long-term pieces of this roster, while netting picks or future assets in return.

In the end, it could be the best possible decision the Jazz front office could make. We know how much Danny Ainge loves to make deals, and this season could present yet another chance for him to act.

So while it may be early, here are three potential names we could see on the trade block for the Jazz come February’s NBA trade deadline:

Talen Horton-Tucker

Starting off his 2023-24 campaign, Talen Horton-Tucker was slotted in as the day-one starter at point guard, beating out several enticing options on the roster. Since C Walker Kessler has been ruled out with an elbow injury, we have seen rookie G Keyonte George get the nod to start over THT, leading to two great games distributing the basketball.

If George continues his stretch of being a positive playmaker and forecasts to be the long-term starter for this team, we could see Horton-Tucker potentially on his way out of Utah. He’s signed on for the rest of the season with a qualifying offer, set to hit free agency once again in the summer of 2024.

If there is a market for THT, the wisest move might be being opportunistic to maximize this team’s asset pool. It could effectively open up more minutes for younger players on the roster like George, and potentially add to this franchise's already stacked draft pick stash.

Kelly Olynyk

When you take a step back to look at Kelly Olynyk’s contract situation, it might not be the most shocking outcome to see him shipped off at the trade deadline. He’s inked to a deal until the end of the 2023-24 season before he’s set to be an unrestricted free agent in the summer.

Now in his age 32 season, it might make the most sense for the Jazz to get the most out of their expiring veteran contract before he hits the open market. We saw Danny Ainge do similar during last year’s deadline when he sent Mike Conley to the for the return of a first-round pick. While the package for Olynyk might be a bit less, the general idea of capitalizing on assets remains the same.

Depending on how competitive the Jazz can be come February, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Olynyk sent off to a contender looking for positional size and nice stretchability.

Collin Sexton

With the recent increase in minutes and opportunity for rookie G Keyonte George, the coaching staff might be looking for efforts to secure him more consistent minutes into the rotation. Keyonte has already shown immense strides in his efforts as a playmaker and his ability to lead an NBA offense could be cementing his place as a core piece of this team earlier than expected.

If that is the case, seeing this team shed an offensive-minded guard or two at the deadline might make sense when considering the current defensive shortcomings. Sexton’s performed solidly in his role as the sixth man of this team in ten games, averaging 12.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists. However, when the roster already has a player like the former Sixth Man of the Year in G Jordan Clarkson, it makes a similar player like Collin a bit more expendable.

He’s locked into a longer-term contract than the last two entries on this list, but that might present better overall value when looking for a trade. A lot of opposing teams could be eyeing a bench spark plug for their playoff push come February, and those extra years on a cheap contract could make finding more pieces in a deal that much easier.

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