:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66243270/1203600018.jpg.0.jpg)
The NBA Trade Deadline is this Thursday, February 6, 2020. With tragedy striking the NBA with Kobe’s passing, rumors and discussions went silent as the league mourned and reset. Now that has left the NBA with mere days before what is usually the most rumor laden week of the year save maybe the week of the NBA Draft. The Utah Jazz are among the many second tier playoff teams with 33+ wins that seem are looking to catapult themselves into the same rarified air as the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks.
The Utah Jazz unlike many of the other second tier NBA teams in the West are limited on what they can do or move. Here is a list of all their players and their contracts that are eligible to be moved.
2019-2020 Utah Jazz Salaries
| Player | Tm | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | Guaranteed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tm | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | Guaranteed |
| Mike Conley | UTA | $32,511,623 | $34,504,132 | $54,938,006 | ||
| Rudy Gobert | UTA | $25,008,427 | $26,525,281 | $51,533,708 | ||
| Bojan Bogdanović | UTA | $17,000,000 | $17,850,000 | $18,700,000 | $19,550,000 | $73,100,000 |
| Jordan Clarkson* | UTA | $13,437,500 | $13,437,500 | |||
| Ed Davis | UTA | $4,767,000 | $5,005,350 | $9,772,350 | ||
| Donovan Mitchell | UTA | $3,635,760 | $5,195,501 | $8,831,261 | ||
| Tony Bradley | UTA | $1,962,360 | $3,542,060 | $5,504,420 | ||
| Georges Niang | UTA | $1,783,557 | $1,678,854 | $1,678,854 | ||
| Emmanuel Mudiay | UTA | $1,737,145 | $1,737,145 | |||
| Nigel Williams-Goss | UTA | $1,500,000 | $1,517,981 | $1,782,621 | $1,500,000 | |
| Miye Oni | UTA | $898,310 | $1,517,981 | $1,782,621 | $898,310 | |
| Juwan Morgan | UTA | $746,054 | $746,054 | |||
| Rayjon Tucker | UTA | $578,573 | $1,517,981 | $578,574 |
Joe Ingles and Royce O’Neale are unable to be moved until the end of this season so they are not on this list. Out of the remaining names, there’s some players that are really easy to scratch off like Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. They’re not going anywhere. As of righting this, the Utah Jazz are very much on board the Mike Conley train and are committed to letting that experiment carry to the end of the season. It would be a huge surprise if Bojan Bogdanovic was even included in negotiations at this point as he is having a career year. I don’t want to say the Jazz would never think of moving Bojan or Mike, but it’d have to take the Jazz literally getting an offer they couldn’t refuse on those two to pivot. So what does that leave us with as far as ammunition for trades?
Player Assets - Utah Jazz
| Player | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | Guaranteed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | Guaranteed |
| Jordan Clarkson* | $13,437,500 | $13,437,500 | |||
| Ed Davis | $4,767,000 | $5,005,350 | $9,772,350 | ||
| Tony Bradley | $1,962,360 | $3,542,060 | $5,504,420 | ||
| Georges Niang | $1,783,557 | $1,678,854 | $1,678,854 | ||
| Emmanuel Mudiay | $1,737,145 | $1,737,145 | |||
| Nigel Williams-Goss | $1,500,000 | $1,517,981 | $1,782,621 | $1,500,000 | |
| Miye Oni | $898,310 | $1,517,981 | $1,782,621 | $898,310 | |
| Juwan Morgan | $746,054 | $746,054 | |||
| Rayjon Tucker | $578,573 | $1,517,981 | $578,574 | ||
| TOTAL W/O CLARKSON | $13,972,999 | ||||
| TOTAL W/ CLARKSON | $27,410,499 |
Utah Jazz Draft Assets
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
| YES ... but | YES ... but | YES ... but | YES ... but | YES ... but | YES | YES | YES |
| Top 7 & #15-30 Protected else Grizzlies | Top 7 & #15-30 Protected else Grizzlies* | Top 6 Protected else Grizzlies* | Top 3 Protected else Grizzlies* | Top 1 Protected else Grizzlies* | |||
| NO | NO | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| NO | Golden State Unprotected 2nd | NO | NO | Option to swap 2nd round with Cavaliers 2nd round |
So what does that leave Utah with? Well... if Utah wanted to trade literally every player they could and combine their salaries—they cannot combine Jordan Clarkson’s due to trade restrictions on his contract—they can get up to $13.9M and be able to match a contract of $18.9M or less. That may be one reason they are waiting until the very last moment to convert Jarrell Brantley or Justin Wright-Foreman beyond two way contracts, and the fact that they’re at 15 players right now on the roster not including two ways.
Utah can also trade Jordan Clarkson and match the salary of his contract for any number of players. But the Jazz can’t combine any additional players from their roster in the trade.
When it comes to draft assets, Utah cannot start sending picks out until 2026 (Thanks Brooklyn Nets/New York Knicks and Stepien Rule). Utah’s most prized asset may be the 2021 second rounder that could bring in some quality role player due to what is being predicted as a deep 2021 class.
So let’s get to the rumors involving the Utah Jazz.
2/3/2020 1:30PM - Crickets
...
...
...
So currently there are none. Utah hasn’t appeared active at least at the rumor level. We know how Utah felt with their trade details about Mike Conley being leaked at the last trade deadline. So far it’s quiet on the Utah front. That does not mean Utah is not looking, it’s just that if they want to bring in a guy with a bigger salary they are limited by not being able to move Joe Ingles or Royce O’Neale, not being willing to budge on Mike Conley, and not being able to combine Jordan Clarkson with other players. If Clarkson and Davis’ contracts could be combined, that would bring in a pretty big impact player and provide value to another team. But that’s not an option at this point.
There are players that have been mentioned that are available and in the Jazz’s price and asset range like Jakob Poetl, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marvin Williams, and DeMarre Carroll. Those don’t really move the needle the way Jazz fans were probably hoping, but Utah’s trade ceiling this deadline is probably a Jae Crowder like addition rather than a Mike Conley one.