There has been so much noise surrounding the Utah Jazz in recent weeks regarding their purportedly overt ways of tanking which have drawn the attention of the NBA. In fact, the Jazz franchise was fined $500,000 for holding supposedly healthy players out of action in close games, with the league sending a message that their brazen resting maneuvers have to stop.
Be that as it may, the Jazz are not too far away from returning to consistent winning ways. They are building a nice young core over at Salt Lake City, and the front office believes in what they've built so far to the point of pushing for a win-now trade prior to the deadline which should, at least on paper, set them up to compete for a playoff spot, even in the loaded West, in 2027 and beyond.
The Jazz were surprisingly aggressive, nabbing one of the available stars in the NBA, and they have to be lauded for their declaration of intent that their tanking ways are nearing their end.
Jazz swing blockbuster trade for Jaren Jackson Jr.
The Jazz have shown flashes of being very competitive this season, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that their offense has taken a significant step up. Utah has always believed in Keyonte George, hence their decision to draft him in the first place. But George's career has taken off in his third season in the NBA, as he's become one of the most explosive scoring guards in the association.
George is not your prototypical point guard, but he's a flamethrower who can create his shot at any given moment, and having a player like that seems to be a must in today's NBA for teams with contending aspirations. And the Jazz guard has future star written all over him and this certainly played a part in Utah being more aggressive on the trade market, acquiring former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr.
Jackson's production has stagnated, but so has the Memphis Grizzlies team around him, so it's hard to fault him too much for his shortcomings this season. The book on Jackson has been written; he's one of the best shot-blockers in the NBA and he's significantly more mobile on the perimeter on the defensive end than one would think, and he's a versatile offensive player.
He's able to put the ball on the floor, post up smaller defenders, and create buckets using that exceptional left-handed baby hook of his. And he's been a reliable marksman for his entire career, having made 1.7 triples per game in his seven seasons in the NBA thus far on over 35 percent shooting.
The big weakness of Jackson's game is his rebounding, as he has poor rebounding instincts and motor at times, and he doesn't have the strength to bully his way onto the boards. But lucky for him, the Jazz have two very capable centers of handling the glass for him in Walker Kessler (when he returns from injury) and Jusuf Nurkic (who's resting intermittently to help the Jazz lose a few more games).
And considering that the Jazz are playing Lauri Markkanen at the three, Jackson's main weakness as a player shouldn't be too big of a factor for Utah.
Utah's biggest need is defense (they are literally dead-last in the NBA in defensive rating) and acquiring Jackson and pairing him with Kessler would solve so much of the Jazz's defensive woes. Adding in Ace Bailey's defensive potential on the perimeter, and the Jazz have all the makings of a balanced, two-way threat.
Now, the trade the Jazz made cost them dearly. They had to give up two recent first-round picks in Taylor Hendricks (drafted ninth overall in 2023) and Walter Clayton Jr. (18th overall in 2025) along with three first-round picks: the most favorable of the UTA/MIN/CLE first-round pick in 2027, the unprotected Los Angeles Lakers pick on the same year, and an unprotected 2031 first-round pick from the Phoenix Suns.
The Jazz should be ready to compete next season, and the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves should still be contenders, so that pick shouldn't come out as something they would regret parting ways with. The Lakers have Luka Doncic. The 2031 Suns pick could become something, but a lot can happen five years — five years ago, the Suns were in the NBA Finals.
Hendricks hasn't progressed as well as the Jazz had hoped anyway, although a lot of that has to do with the gruesome injury he suffered that ended his sophomore campaign. Clayton looked like a quality point guard in the making, but the Jazz had George and Isaiah Collier anyway, so it's not like they were in dire need of another floor general.
The Jazz are reaching the point of oversaturation with young players, and the goal is to put together a winning basketball team, not just to accumulate assets for the sake of it. It was nice and all that they had all those future picks, but hoarding them instead of giving them up for a perennial DPOY candidate like Jackson doesn't seem like a smart move whatsoever. This trade shouldn't be construed as anything other than a huge win for the Jazz.
Utah utilizes cap space to replenish asset base
For now, the Jazz are in a holding pattern as they intend for their pick to fall within the top-eight so that they could keep it out of the greedy Oklahoma City Thunder's hands. As such, the Jazz pulled off a few trades to at least get a few more assets to function as a salary-dumping site for a few teams looking to trim their tax bill.
The Jazz acquired two second-round picks from the Cleveland Cavaliers to absorb the contract of Lonzo Ball, who's looked washed this season. They then acquired one more second-round pick, with Austin Ainge helping his father Danny's beloved Boston Celtics by trimming their tax bill further by absorbing Chris Boucher's contract.
The Jazz front office nailed their trade deadline dealings, and every fan should be very pleased with how they maneuvered.
