B/R Proposes Peculiar Jazz Trade Sending John Collins to Cleveland

NBA trade machines and hypotheticals continue to press on during the dragging offseason, each seemingly becoming more questionable than the last. With the plentiful assets on hand for a franchise like the Utah Jazz, they are no strangers to finding themselves at the heart of these eye-catching conversations.

This time, trade discussions have stemmed from Bleacher Report to find avenues to spice up some rosters heading into the 2023-24 season. With their proposition, the Cleveland Cavaliers once again do business with Utah following last summer’s blockbuster with G Donovan Mitchell:

Utah Jazz receive: G Caris LeVert, F Isaac Okoro

Cleveland Cavaliers receive: F John Collins, 2025 first-round pick (CLE)

While in this deal, the Jazz would be parting ways with Collins just over two months removed from acquiring him, it nets Utah two contributing depth pieces that can fill some needs around this team’s wing depth.

Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley dives into the continued logistics of the trade, signaling that 9th-overall pick F Taylor Hendricks could be ready to leap quicker than some may expect:

"While the Jazz just added Collins this offseason, they could be ready to pivot away from him sooner than later for a few reasons."
"If No. 9 overall pick Taylor Hendricks is ready to roll right away, Utah should want to give him all the minutes he can get...Utah might have greater needs elsewhere, like with shot-creation and perimeter defense. Enter LeVert and Okoro."

LeVert and Okoro were both key rotational players for the Cavaliers a season ago. LeVert is coming off a 2022-23 campaign averaging 12.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in 74 total games. As for Okoro, he was posting nightly numbers of 6.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 76 appearances.

Both are and have been productive pieces but have seen a gradual decline in their counting stats with each passing year. In a deal that involves an asset like the valuable first-rounder mentioned, a higher ceiling needs to be present with the offer. That ceiling simply is not there in this type of package.

With the amount of draft capital in possession of the Jazz, it’s a collection that only the Oklahoma City Thunder can stack up with. Sacrificing that leverage for a less-than-stellar return is a short-sighted move. Conserving those picks would be a much better course of action. It’s probably beneficial to see how well Collins plays before shipping him off too.

An opportunistic GM like Danny Ainge at the helm makes his next move near impossible to predict, but the decision to make a trade like this seems unlikely.

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