December 15th has come and gone, which means that trade season has officially begun in the NBA. January 15th is when every player signed in free agency becomes trade eligible, but December 15th is when the majority of players signed in free agency become eligible to be traded. Plenty of teams will be worth watching as potential sellers; it seems like a mere formality that the Pistons will look to deal veterans Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks, Monte Morris, and/or Joe Harris before the trade deadline. But another team to monitor at the trade deadline: the Utah Jazz.
The Jazz were one of the more fun stories around this time last season. At December 15th last season, the Jazz were 17-14 with a net rating of +2.4 points per 100 possessions. But Utah ended up selling at the trade deadline, most notably trading away Mike Conley and Jarred Vanderbilt, and finished last season with a 37-45 record and a -0.7 net rating.
So far in the 2023-24 season, it seems like the second half of last season was more indicative of who the Jazz are than the first half. Utah has begun this season 10-17 with a net rating of -7.3 points per 100 possessions, which ranks 26th in the league. Only the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Charlotte Hornets, and Washington Wizards have worse net ratings so far this season. The Jazz certainly don't look like playoff hopefuls with their putrid net rating and being four games behind the Suns for the last play-in spot. Utah profiles well as a potential seller. But how far will the Jazz and Danny Ainge go as sellers? It's time to make some predictions regarding that.
The Jazz don't trade Lauri Markkanen
With the Jazz's slow start to the season, teams are beginning to look at Lauri Markkanen to see if they can pry the All-Star away from Salt Lake City. They might be able to. Danny Ainge is willing to listen to trade inquiries regarding Lauri Markkanen, at least that's what a general manager told Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports.
Fischer goes on to say that a Lauri Markkanen trade is unlikely, but it isn't that hard to make the case for Danny Ainge to trade him. He's in the second-to-last year of his current contract and his value is currently at an all-time high. He only makes $17 million this year too, so it isn't hard for teams interested in acquiring him to stack the requisite salary to make a deal feasible on the money front. Markkanen is going to want to get paid soon and will fetch the max somewhere, so if Utah doesn't want to pay him while deep in their rebuild, it might be wise to deal him now for all the draft picks and young players they can get.
But the point of a rebuild is to get good, young players, and Markkanen is exactly that. He's still only 26 years old, just made an All-Star team, and his numbers this season are essentially the same as they were in his all-star season a year ago. Smart teams hold on to players like that. The Jazz should do the same.
The Jazz do trade Jordan Clarkson
Jordan Clarkson's utility to the Jazz franchise might hit it's expiration date soon. Not that Clarkson is a bad player, but they've already handed the point guard mantle to rookie Keyonte George, and George has held his own there. Utah also has plenty of young guards on the roster that needs reps and minutes in their own right, including Collin Sexton, Talen Horton-Tucker, Ochai Agbaji, and Brice Sensabaugh.
Jordan Clarkson is currently in the final year of his current contract. He's slated to be a free agent after this season. The Jazz would probably like to bring him back, but they have the young guards in place to move on. They should and get extra draft capital while they can.
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