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Imagine, for a moment, that you are Utah Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey. You are currently enjoying your position at the top of the treacherous Western Conference, and other contenders for your crown are falling like flies.
You have two complimentary stars in Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, a brilliant floor general that just made his first All-Star appearance as a 33-year-old in Mike Conley, and one of the best-supporting casts in the league.
All of this — yet no one really takes you seriously as a title contender.
Brooklyn has their 3-headed monster in the east. Philadelphia has the stars to check yours, as does Denver. The Clippers have the best wing combo in the West. The Suns are now the underdog surprise darlings of the league, and they are breathing down your neck for the first seed (two games behind).
What do you do, GM? The trade deadline is approaching, and everything seems okay in a vacuum, but the wolves are closing in, and all of them think that you are more than beatable.
The key for the Jazz is not to panic.
Possible scenarios for Jazz
The best part about your team is that it is as close to homegrown as can be. Gobert and Mitchell are in-house superstars at this point and are studs on both ends of the court. Conley wants to be with you, and while he might be expensive to keep, at 33 he might be willing to sacrifice a little bit with some playoff success.
Royce O'Neal and Jordan Clarkson are developing nicely as ancillary pieces for the Jazz, and swingman Joe Ingles is integral to the offense as a secondary playmaker.
Aside from those six players, most of Utah's roster is meticulously constructed to create a high-functioning offense with a very high floor. So in short, Utah's biggest need as Thursday's trade deadline approaches is to not panic.
There are some moves to make, of course, but these are smaller tweaks. Most of Utah's players are necessary pieces to contend for the title this year, and the team would sorely miss them. But there are a couple of players that can be moved for some extra juice on either end of the court.
Two names that immediately come to mind are Derrick Favors and Bojan Bogdanovic. Both are relatively shot fighters that command heavy paychecks over the coming years.
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Favors is unnecessary for a team that already has a serviceable and younger big in Georges Niang. Bogdanovic, meanwhile, was an absolute stud last year, and Snyder likes his size and floor spacing. However, after going through wrist surgery this summer, the sniper's accuracy has decreased. He isn't totally shot, of course, but he is definitely having a down year, and is owed nearly $40 million over the next two seasons.
Both might be able to be packaged with some future picks for a disgruntled piece or expiring contract. Lamarcus Aldridge's veteran contract is expiring, and Gregg Popovich would jump at the chance to sign someone with Bogdanovic's talents. Derrick Favors would be a great and relatively cost-effective insurance policy for a contender like either LA team.
Sacramento's Marvin Bagley, or Jabari Parker also comes to mind. The rookie has shown promise through his young career, but has underperformed thus far relative to his classmates. Bogdanovic and Favors bring a lot of veteran presence to the Kings, who have intimated that they are only a few pieces away from contending, and Bogdanovic at least brings some low-maintenance floor spacing that they desperately need.
Finally, if the Jazz really want to make a big move, Bogdanovic and Favors offer more flexibility than Kevin Love's beefy contract, and the money works out. Cleveland is ready for a rebuild, and two veteran role players will do much better than an aging star like Love.
On the Jazz though, Love's size, passing, and floor spacing makes him a supercharged version of Bogdanovic and Favors. His skillset compliments Gobert's and Mitchell's perfectly, and a name like him immediately makes Utah a real challenger once the playoffs start. After all, the Jazz don't really have a primary scoring option that they can turn to outside of Mitchell, and Love gives them that and a whole new dimension.
But, it should be reiterated that Utah simply does not need to make any big moves going into the deadline. They have made plenty of waves developing talent, as evidenced by Mitchell, Gobert, and even Clarkson. Remember that Clarkson's career was dead in the water before Utah took him off of Cleveland's hands, and he is a legitimate case to be this season's Sixth Man of the Year.
The Jazz are the Western Conference's number one seed for a reason, and at this point in the season, they are legit as can be.
The moves suggested above are just that: suggestions. If the Jazz really feel like they need extra juice, there are steps that they can take. But veterans will become available for the minimum soon after the deadline hits, and they should feel free to make their move then with no risk.
In this case, the best advice for the Jazz is this: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
