FanPost

Should we have kept the money man?


Mehmet-okur_medium

"I'm worth more than a 2020 2nd round pick O'Connor!"

So earlier this season the Jazz traded Mehmet Okur to clear some salary space for a large trade exception and a conditional 2nd round pick we'll likely never see. At the time of the trade there wasn't as much fuss as I expected from Jazz fans, probably in part due to our promising young front court combo of Favors & Kanter.

Whether it went slightly unnoticed or not, the Memo trade may be one the Jazz soon regret. We're still in the first month of a lockout shortened seasons, and already the injuries are starting to pile up. Particularly injuries to star big men on contending teams.

Exhibt A - Al Horford, Jeff Green, Zach Randolph, Eddy Curry, Greg Oden, (Kwame Brown? Ronny Turiaf?)

That's a pretty huge list for a season that isn't even 1/6th done yet. And now back to Memo, who is a proven baller, has won a championship, and plays that ever-important NBA position - the big C.

It doesn't take a roster building genius like David Kahn to realise Memo is (or: could have been) an incredible asset this season. With so many teams needing starter quality talent at the C position, Memo would have been at the top of every team's want list. He plays hard, trains hard, has size, and brings elite outside shooting.

Yet the Jazz dumped him ASAP, to the Nets for what amounts to nothing in my amateur opinion. Now it's easy to insult a trade with hindsight, but was it really so unimaginable that there would be a long list of big man injuries this season? Potential trading partners who could give more than a non-existent 2nd round pick and some imaginary trade exception? I think it's a pretty safe bet, had a championship-contending team needed a big man badly, that they would give up a first-round pick or at least a solid role player talent.

When the Nets come to SLC, I'll be cheering most for Memo. He was all you could want from a Jazzman, and would have gladly stayed with the franchise (which is what separates him from D-Will). I wish the Jazz would've kept him (you can never have enough big men) - or at the very least - I wish the Jazz would have traded him for what he is worth. And what Mehmet Okur is worth is MUCH more than a 2nd round pick and some fluff.

(Disclaimer: Should KOC use said trade exception to land a quality talent in Utah, I'll eat my words)

All comments are the opinion of the commenter and not necessarily that of SLC Dunk or SB Nation.