The Utah Jazz made the playoffs again last season. After four years of missing the postseason at the start of the last decade, they have now been in the thick of things for several years now. The goal, however, is to seriously challenge for a title. The core of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert is signed up for the next five years, while additions to that core in Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson are there for the next three. Additional pieces in Bojan Bogdanovic and Rudy Gay, to name a few, are also there, so this is the team the Jazz plan to challenge with.
However, it is clear that for a serious title challenge, they will need more. Here are two trades that can potentially help them.
Davis Bertans to Jazz; Joe Ingles to Wizards
One thing that every team knows in the league is that you need a ton of shooting to win in the modern NBA. For the Jazz to get even more shooting and even more consistent shooting, Bertans is the way to go. The Latvian shooter has been lethal in the past, while Ingles is in the last year of his contract, and although a capable shooter, Bertans is simply better.
It is true that Bertans had a down year from the contract year he had in 2019-20. However, he still shot the lights out with 39.5% shooting for three on 7.5 attempts, which is simply elite. Bertans exploded in the aforementioned 19-20 season, jumping from 8.0 points to 15.4 while keeping his shooting percentage on a good level. He brings a ton of shooting, as it was said before, and not much else, but there is not much else that the Jazz truly needs.
On the other hand, Ingles is slowly fading away as he enters the wrong side of 30. He is going to be 34 when the season starts, while Bertans is entering his prime at 28. The Wizards can always flip his one-year contract for some value, or use this move for flexibility. With the Latvian occupying $16 million per year for the next four years, Ingles would be off the books right away and the Wizards could look to use this in a trade or to sign some players next summer.
Obviously, this would benefit the Jazz more, as having two snipers like Bogdanovic and Bertans on the wings would be lethal. The defences would have to worry about Conley and Mitchell drives, Gobert on the offensive glass and the two shooters on the wings. If the Jazz can pull this trade off, it would be a great addition, even if it would not allow them to sign any bigger players for the foreseeable future in free agency.
Marvin Bagley to Jazz; Eric Paschall and Royce O'Neale to Kings
The Kings are known for making these types of moves, so in that world, this trade makes perfect sense. Obviously, the second overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft has not been amazing for the Kings and he is in the last year of his contract. Taking a gamble on Paschall and O'Neale, both of which have shown that can contribute to their teams in the past, would be good value for a draft bust in the making.
Marvin Bagley would be a great risk to take for the Utah Jazz that would not come at a big cost. He has one year on his deal, as it was said before, and if this trade does not work out, they can always let him go into free agency. However, should he work out, it would be a great deal for the Jazz. Bagley was the second pick for a reason and it is clear that the dysfunctionality in Sacramento did not work for his development. The Jazz are a stable franchise with a clear plan for the future, and if he can achieve similar status to Bobby Portis in Milwaukee, he could revive his career.
The Kings, on the other hand, do not know what to do with their picks, or at least it seems so. They wasted too many careers of good young players who had superstar potential and it seems like Bagley is one more in that mold. This way, they would get at least some value for an expiring contract that they clearly are not thinking of re-signing. Paschall had a great rookie year for the Warriors a couple of years back, while O'Neale will be a constant and solid contributor off the bench.
It is clear that the Jazz needs help and both of these trades present it, at least in some capacity. While Bagley would be a risk, Bertans definitely is not, and the Utah front office should be on the phone right now to the Wizards to make this deal happen.
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